Spiritwing
by Orion's Halo
Summary: Goth has returned to free his demonic god from the Underworld, and if he isn't stopped, the world will forever be engulfed in eternal night. But Shade is dead, and all he can do is watch. Or is it? Will he find a way to defeat his rival once and for all?.
1. Sunrise

Shade soared over the moonlit surface of the pond he used to drop pebbles into when he was a newborn, smiling at how small it seemed now that he was older. When he was young, the body of water had looked gargantuan to him, and incredibly deep, too. Shade zipped up into the air and did a somersault before falling backward and diving under the pond's shimmering surface. He skimmed along the bottom, surprised to see that one of the pebbles he had kicked into the water as a newborn, a small purple one with white flecks, was still there. The sight of it brought a grin to his face, but it wasn't long before it melted away. It not only reminded him of his careless youth, but of all of the time he had spent being alone.

He abruptly flew out of the pond and began heading toward Tree Haven to see Marina and Griffin before they went to sleep, then suddenly stopped, remembering that they would be out a little longer; bats were no longer banished from the daylight. Shade dove back down into the forest to search for his mate and his son, the two creatures that his entire world revolved around, his loneliness forgotten.

Griffin finally caught up to the tiger moth he had been chasing and closed his teeth on it. The insect's wings battered his face until he jerked his head backward and crunched down on the flailing body. It had been a while since he had gotten to enjoy one of those.

"Nice catch!"

He swallowed the rest of the moth and looked up to see Luna roosting on the nearby branch of an old, thick oak. Griffin flew over and roosted next to her, unable to help returning her broad smile. "Thanks. Have you already eaten?"

Luna opened her mouth and rolled out her tongue to imitate vomiting, then erupted into a fit of giggles. "I think if I eat another mosquito I might just explode."

Griffin pulled a serious face. "You'd better be careful, then; we don't want a mosquito to accidentally fly down your throat."

The Silverwing closed her mouth quickly, trying to keep a straight face, and failing only a few seconds later. After recovering from her last burst of giggling, she took a deep breath and sighed, still smiling.

"You tired?"

Luna shook her head. "No, I want to watch the sun rise."

"Again?" Griffin said, feigning disappointment at her response.

Luna pushed him playfully with a wing. "Yes, again! C'mon, I don't want to miss it."

Griffin lit from the branch with Luna, spiraling upward around the oak tree. They roosted on one of the uppermost branches where one had a good view of the horizon.

"Any second now," Luna whispered, her gaze locked on the spot where the first sliver of sun always appeared.

Shade roosted beside Griffin, a spark of excitement shooting through him when the top of the silver circle peeked over the horizon shyly. He had seen the sun rise before, many times actually, but it wasn't the sun itself that filled him with joy; it was the simple fact that he was allowed to see it. No owls patrolled the skies at dawn, searching for unwary bats who had forgotten what time it was. The colony could feed for a longer period of time, though many bats still returned to their roosts before the sun rose, some out of fear that the birds would go back on their word, others merely out of habit.

"I could stay here forever, Griffin," Luna said softly, her eyes never leaving the horizon, "just watching it. I could watch it rise a million times and it would never be any less amazing than the first time I had seen it."

Griffin spread a wing and curled it around her, drawing her close. "I know, I could do the same thing."

Luna laid her head on his shoulder. "I don't want you to go."

Griffin sighed. "I don't want to go either. I'll only be gone for a couple of months, no longer. I promise."

"You sure?"

"That's how long Chinook said it would be."

Luna buried her face in his neck, murmuring, "It seems like a really long time."

Griffin nuzzled her cheek. "I'll be back before you know it."

Shade left the pair to talk in privacy, remembering how he had felt when he had had to leave Marina for Stonehold.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Griffin asked, combing her fur with a gentle claw.

Luna removed her face from his neck, a small smile on her lips. "What did you say your dad wanted to call you if you had been a female?"

Griffin smiled back. "Aurora."

"Aurora," Luna echoed. "I like that name. Aurora..."

The two bats looked back toward the rising sun, watching it for another few moments and listening to the trills of the morning birds' songs.

"What if it turns out to be a male?" Griffin whispered in her ear.

Luna pressed her forehead against Griffin's, her soft, dark eyes looking directly into his. "Then we'll name him Shade," she said.

Marina greeted Griffin and Luna over the raucous chatter of the colony as they flew through the knot hole into Tree Haven. "Hey, you two!"

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, Marina."

Marina clicked her tongue when the pair roosted next to her, frowning at her son. "Griffin, have you suddenly decided to stop grooming yourself? You're completely filthy!"

Griffin groaned as Marina pulled him over to her and began licking him clean. "Mom!"

Luna laughed and moved closer, helping Marina comb the dirt from his fur. "She's right, Griffin; you can hardly see your stripes."

"Whoa, you're right." Griffin had looked over his shoulder to see that the swaths of bright fur he had inherited from his Brightwing mother were almost the same shade as the rest of him.

Shade watched the three bats laugh together and hold each other close, and he could never remember being happier than he was now.


	2. Slavery

Murk's face was like chiseled stone as he viewed the scene before him: bats, hundreds of bats, chained together by vines as they were in the Underworld. Murk had wondered why the bats didn't simply bite through the vines, but then he had noticed that pale light crackled up and down them, and he guessed that Zotz had put the same spell on them as the ones in the Underworld. There were many slaves inside of a fair sized crater right now that they had carved out of the earth with their teeth, claws, and rocks. Bone-thin and weary, they toiled despite the heat, cringing whenever a Vampyrum guard passed by to check on the progress.

Murk knew exactly what they were doing. They were tunneling into the Underworld, and from what he had heard Goth saying, they were right above the mine in said world. Murk had snorted and scorned the Vampyrum king for his stupidity at first, for it would just barely cut the millennia that it would take to finish in half, but quickly realized that the miners were only there to help get the tunnel started.

Goth had been hard at work since he arrived back in the Upperworld, taking prisoners and enslaving them, ensuring that his god would not be denied of his victory again. The prisoners that were taken were mostly bats from the jungle, but many were nothern bats, those with explosive discs sewn to their bellies. Every time one of the human flying machines were spotted, Goth would send soldiers out to capture the bats that were released before they hurled themselves at the human buildings. They were then taken back to the new royal pyramid where Goth had the royal surgeons remove the discs from their bellies. The explosive discs were stored a good distance from the pyramid in a large, dry cave, ready for when the tunnel had been deemed deep enough and the earth too hard to dig.

Murk looked away from the mining site and saw King Goth's mate, Phoenix, flying over to survey the work. He had seen the female before in the Underworld, but Murk had never spoken to her, for she had been Chief Builder, making her practically untouchable. Murk watched impassively as she snarled angrily when of the northern bats collapsed from the heat.

"We don't have time for slackers," she said to one of the guards. "Replace him."

The other Vampyrum nodded and went to get another slave from the dungeons while his companions finished off the unconscious bat.

Phoenix swirled around the mine several times, her cold, merciless eyes spotting the weakest slaves and ordering them to be replaced with stronger ones. At one point she even killed one of the bats herself; a Brightwing that had tried to protect her old, graying father from one of the guards after Phoenix had ordered him to kill him. The female Brightwing had been young and strong, exactly the kind of bat that was needed here in the mine, but she had also been incredibly foolish. When the guard had shoved her aside to get at her fainted father, she had launched herself back at him and sunk her teeth and claws into his leg. The Vampyrum had given her a good, hard smack with a wing that sent her sprawling, but she still didn't give up. When she tried to stop him a second time, Phoenix had intervened, snapping the bat's neck.

The Vampyrum had looked down at the dead Brightwing in surprise, saying, "Milady, she wasn't weak or sick at all. I thought that King Goth said-"

"King Goth doesn't make the rules here in the mine," Phoenix had growled. "I do. She was holding back our progress by denying the fact that her father was worthless. Now, dispose of these two and get back to your post."

"Yes, my Queen," the guard had responded, lowering his head respectfully.

Murk's eyes followed her as she swept away from the mine, sure that production was no longer being slowed. He had to agree that when Zotz had paired them, he had known exactly what he was doing. Phoenix' heart was just as black as Goth's, and their cruelty and cunning matched in every way.

Seeing the two of them leading the Vampyrum race was a rather scary thing.

Murk had now gathered enough information to satisfy himself, and shot through the jungle to find the only bat he had ever known to defy Cama Zotz' demonic power.

Phoenix was headed toward the royal cave to pray when Goth called to her from a vine-ridden tree, "Phoenix, I wish to speak with you."

The female rolled her eyes, but angled her wings away from her previous destination. "Yes, my Lord?" she said as she landed on the branch next to him, her voice dripping sarcasm.

Goth growled at the Vampyrum before him, wondering if Zotz had chosen her to be his mate merely because he deserved punishment after his last failed attempt at raising him from the Underworld. Though she was smaller in stature than when Goth had first met her, her ferocity had not diminished the slightest bit.

"You aren't to kill those who are strong enough to work, Phoenix. We've had this discussion before," he said, his eyes narrowed to icy slits.

Phoenix scowled at him, baring her fangs. "You don't know the slightest thing about running a mine, so just go back to the royal chamber and study your stars."

Goth spread his wings and hissed. "Enough! If you can't keep from killing off my slaves, then you will be banned from the mine. Do you understand?"

His queen shot hot blue sparks of hatred at him, wishing with all her might that she still had the strength and size that she had in the Underworld. Zotz had made all of the Vampyrum that ran the mines larger and stronger, simply because it was easier to deal with troublesome bats and keep them in order.

Goth was larger than her now, and she had learned to keep her baiting and teasing to a minimum due to that fact. She had pushed him over his limit once, and wasn't sure that it would be wise to do it again. He had been barking orders at his guards and assigning them posts around the mine when Phoenix had countermanded his words, giving them different posts and different orders. Goth had snarled at her and told her that he was King, and that she should busy herself elsewhere. Phoenix had laughed mockingly.

"What do you know about mines, Goth? Oh that's right, I'm sorry. You've slaved in one, haven't you?"

That had been enough to make the male snap, and he had surprised her by leaping on top of her and pinning her to the ground, his fangs bared at her throat. "I've told you before Phoenix," he growled behind clenched teeth. "I am King and you will not reprimand my orders. Keep a civil tongue in your head or I'll rip it out." But she had only sneered up at him.

"You won't. You _can't._ Zotz wouldn't be very pleased, now, would he?" She winced when he sank his claws into her shoulders.

"If you weren't my mate, I would tear your heart out here and now," he said, his eyes blazing with fury. "Now, go back to your chamber before I lose my temper and displease our god."

Phoenix didn't relish the idea of letting him have victory over her again, but she didn't want to end up pinned to the ground either. Instead she curled her lip at him, spread her wings and kicked off the branch. She didn't know what Zotz saw in Goth, and she resented the god for giving her strict orders to obey him. All she could do was hope that Goth wouldn't fail to liberate Zotz a second time.


	3. Forgotten Faces

Shade wheeled easily in the air and passed through another sleeping owl, feeling its strength envelop him as he became the creature itself. He slipped through the thick limb of an old, gnarled maple and skimmed the forest floor, passing through flowers, insects, and even a fox. Then, as he was about to try flying through a squirrel for the first time, he was surprised when a sudden sense of anxiety hit him hard. He left the squirrel to continue foraging and circled above the forest, his gaze sweeping across the landscape. Nothing seemed wrong...

Then that same anxious sense came back to him, and he realized that it was another bat who had passed through the Tree that he was sensing. Whoever they are, they're really upset, Shade thought.

The presence moved around him, darted away, then came back to swirl around him again. Shade remained where he was, confused. What game were they trying to play? Shade tried to focus on the entity, tried to discern who it was. He had noticed a distinct difference in this presence compared to those of the Silverwings and other familiar bat species that inhabited the northern forests. This bat couldn't be from around here...

The presence halted its swirling and began making jerky, agitated movements in a single direction.

Shade moved closer, and the presence immediately darted further away, then waited, as if it wanted him to follow it. Once again, the Silverwing eased closer to it, and the other moved away, but this time, it didn't wait for him. Without a glance back at Tree Haven, Shade bolted after the presence, wondering where it was leading him.

Trees, rivers, lakes, mountains, meadows, oceans, hills, human cities; Shade didn't pay any of them the slightest bit of attention as he passed over, under, and through them. All of his concentration was on the presence in front of him, and he felt that if he redirected his attention elsewhere, he would lose it.

Then, Shade felt the other entity begin to slow, and he did likewise. Finally, they reached their destination and stopped. For a moment, Shade lost the presence, and had to turn around and move about until he found it again. That's when he looked down and finally saw what the other bat had wanted to show him.

He was in the jungle again. Below, the mineworkers were sweating and toiling under the blazing sun, the Vampyrum guards enticing those who tarried back to work with fangs and claws. Despite the fact that he was horror struck, Shade moved closer to the tunnel and the slaves. In many of the bats' bellies were metal rings, and he recognized them to be the same ones that the humans attached the explosive discs to. And where were the discs?

The entity circled him to gain his attention and began moving toward the pyramid. Shade didn't want to follow. He didn't want to get anywhere near anything that was associated with Cama Zotz. He frowned as the other bat swirled about him again. He followed it this time, but cautiously, as if Zotz would appear at any moment and recognize him.

Shade was led into the pyramid and through a series of vast passages, and he couldn't help but eye the slumbering Vampyrum above him. There were almost as many of them now as there were the last time he was here, and that worried him. Where did they all come from, anyway? The presence left him as it changed direction, and Shade hurried to keep up with it. He followed it upward through several different levels, stopping on the very top one.

Sunlight spilled through a large window, turning half of the room's stone a bright, shimmering silver. The other half was cloaked in shadow, and in one of the dark corners, a large figure could be seen roosting. Shade peered closer, a cold feeling spreading through his soul as he identified the bat. He watched as each memory flashed in his mind's eye, as vivid as they had been when they happened: the bands, the owls, the blizzards, the rats, the lightening storm, the human building, the flying machine, the explosions, the jungle, Cama Zotz, the Underworld...

Goth.

The presence drifted closer to the sleeping cannibal, and Shade followed suit. As he approached his lifelong rival, he felt the sudden rush of vengeance burning like a wildfire in his heart. This bat had tried to completely wipe out all life in the Upperworld, had taken his son's life, had separated his family, had done everything in his power to destroy him. Wasn't it only natural that he wanted Goth to suffer as he had?

Something moving behind Goth caught his eye. A female Vampyrum with a mighty crest rustled her wings and pulled them tighter against her body, her chin pressed into her chest. Shade guessed that this was Phoenix, Goth's mate.

The Silverwing felt the other bat drift even closer to Goth, then circled him.

No. There was no way he was going inside of Goth. He didn't want to see what had seen, didn't want to know what he was thinking, didn't want to _be_ him.

The entity impatiently zoomed around Shade before doing the same to Goth once more. Shade hesitantly moved toward him, then, before he could think it over, mentally steeled himself for anything he might see or hear and hurled himself at the Vampyrum.

The jungle. Huge, towering trees with spindly limbs and branches but massive tops. Bright flowers and fruits everywhere, exotic animals' shrieks and caws, a sun that could scorch the fur off of your back. A pyramid, Vampyrum swirling around it, and in the heart of the mass of creatures, was Goth.

"King Goth!" they chanted. "King Goth! King Goth! King Goth!"

Shade felt triumph and joy fill him as they cried his name over and over, but a new memory was already taking over, the last one melting away.

He was in the Underworld, Cama Zotz looming over him like some grotesque, giant gargoyle. Shade screamed as the god's jaws closed over him, swallowing him whole. He screamed louder when he felt the acid of Zotz' whirlpool stomach eating away at him, and began flailing his wings in a desperate attempt to escape. The voices around him, young and old, Silverwing and Vampyrum alike, filled his heart with terror. Mercifully, the memory changed again, but Shade could only imagine what type of horrific scene awaited him.

Griffin was staring up at him, wild-eyed with fear. Shade felt elated as he reared his head back and bit down hard on the newborn, tearing the life from him.

He wanted it to stop, but the memory continued, heedless of his wish.

Griffin's life. Him breathing it in, taking it away from him, killing him. He was about to rip himself away from Goth's mind, unsure if he could take anymore, when a new scene took the place of the old one.

He was in a cave, and in front of him, over a hundred explosive discs. He felt proud of himself as he looked on, and a little excited, too. Shade now understood what had happened to the mining bats, with the tags still in their ears and the metal rings still in their bellies. Something else clicked together in his mind, and Shade then felt a cold wave of fear wash over him.

Goth was going to use the discs to blow a hole in the earth, to free his evil god at last. Were there enough of them for him to do that?

"Shade..."

Before the next memory shimmered into view, Shade was suddenly forced out of Goth and back into the pyramid chamber. He looked back at the cannibal and saw that his eyes were open, staring directly at him. His gaze swiveled about the room, his breathing heavy. After seeing nothing that resembled Shade Silverwing, the Vampyrum closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

He could tell that I was here, Shade marveled. That had never happened before, and he wondered if Goth had simply been dreaming about him.

The entity came close to him, and Shade accidentally passed through it.

Dark fur, jagged wings, unsettling logic, and an even more unsettling obsidian, chiseled smile.

Murk.

Shade couldn't help momentarily forgetting his worries and whirling around the other bat excitedly, happy to meet with him again. He wished fervently that he could speak with him, ask him the many question that whirred in his mind.

Murk's entity held still as Shade flipped and spiraled around him again, probably wondering what in the world he was doing. When the Silverwing finally got control of himself, the real question popped into view.

What does he want me to do about all of this?

Shade passed through him again, wondering if there was some way to communicate with him that way.

Nope.

He was about to try it again when Murk began drifting away from him. He tried to follow, but the Vampyrum's presence had vanished. After waiting a moment to see if he came back, something hit him. Goth had known who he was after he had passed through him, so wouldn't someone else?

With no reason to stay, Shade shot toward Tree Haven like a bolt of lightning, a plan formulating in his mind.


	4. Reunion

Griffin held Luna against his chest, eyes half closed. He hadn't been able to fall asleep; tomorrow night the males would leave for Stonehold, and he was nervous about the whole affair. He didn't want to leave Luna here, even though Marina and Roma, Luna's mother, had assured him that she would be fine. Griffin shifted his wings a little, and Luna nuzzled his neck, breathing in a gentle sigh. He was glad that she wasn't worrying like him; worrying was his job.

Cracking open his mouth, Griffin sprayed sound throughout the dark trunk of the enormous tree, allowing the waves to paint a silvery image in his head: the entire colony was asleep. He had hoped that he wasn't the only one fretting this much about traveling to Stonehold.

Sleep, Griffin told himself. Go to sleep. You're going to need it, come tomorrow night. Forcing his eyes shut, he tried to push any thoughts of the trip from his mind. It didn't work.

"Griff, take it easy," Luna said, and even though her voice was barely above a whisper, it startled him. Her eyes were still shut, and he had thought that she was asleep.

"I didn't wake you up or anything, did I?" he asked quietly.

The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. "Just you moving around and talking to yourself."

Griffin hadn't realized that he had been voicing his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'll try harder not to do that."

"You might want to try harder to go to sleep, too. I don't want Chinook or Cassiel to come back and tell me that you dropped like a rock in the middle of the flight."

Griffin pressed his cheek against hers. "Alright." With Luna's warm body cuddled against his, Griffin drifted slowly off to sleep, his eyes opening more sluggishly and less often as the minutes passed.

"Griffin, we have to talk," Shade said.

The young Silverwing grinned at him. "Hey, Dad." These were the dreams he liked best. The ones about his father. "What is it?"

"Griffin, I'm serious. This isn't a dream."

Griffin frowned. "Yes, it is. I'm asleep, it has to be."

"Well, I guess it is still a dream," Shade said impatiently, "but it's also a way for me to speak to you. I don't know how it works or why, so please don't ask. I have something important to tell you-"

"But you're... you're-"

Shade nodded. "Dead, I know. But listen, you have to take this seriously. Goth has rebuilt his colony and is tunneling into the Underworld, right above the other one down there. I don't think you saw it, but it's big, Griffin. It's really big; big enough to suck all life down it and release Zotz into the Upperworld." He took hold of his son's shoulders. "You have to stop it, Griffin. You have to keep Goth from letting Zotz out of the Underworld."

Griffin was worried now. He still couldn't tell if this was a dream, or if this really was his father speaking to him. "How do you know?" he stuttered. "This is just a dream. You went through the Tree, you're in the past life created by Nocturna now."

"This is the next life, son," Shade said, and he couldn't help smiling a little. "You get to spend the rest of your existence surrounded by your loved ones, and even though they can't see you, you never feel lonely. I've always been with you, Griffin, you and your mother both. You may not have known it, but I was there for you."

Griffin felt a lump form in his throat and tears sting his eyes as he looked at his deceased father. It wasn't fair. He had been with them the entire time and he hadn't even known it. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Griffin asked, a little accusingly.

Shade sighed and wrapped his wings around his son. "I didn't know that I could visit the minds of the living. I just found out a short while ago."

"You are serious, aren't you?" Griffin said, lifting his face to look at the older male. "About this whole thing."

His father nodded again.

The words began pouring out like water, running together. "How? I mean, what can I do to stop him? I'm not a sound shifter like you, I don't have the strength or courage that you do, I can't-"

"Griffin, Griffin! You won't be going alone, so relax."

Griffin stopped and blinked at him. "What?"

"You aren't going to go all that way by yourself," Shade said again.

"Then whose going to go with me?"

Shade ruffled his son's ears. "I am! I think there's a way for me to stay inside of your mind and give you advice while you're awake."

"How?"

"I'm not sure how it will work any more than I know how I'm talking to you right now. All I can say is that I have the capability to pass into living creatures, see inside their minds," Shade said.

Griffin was frowning again. "I'm still not sure this isn't just something made up by my sleep-deprived imagination."

"Then let me try and prove it."

"Er, alright," Griffin said, surprised by his father's response. There was a flash of silver light, and then he was gone. Griffin turned around and tried to find where he had gone. "Dad?" The next thing he knew, blackness had closed in on him and cut off all his senses.

Griffin opened his eyes, and he was back inside Tree Haven. Nothing had changed, except that he had sweat beading his brow. He looked down to see if he had woken Luna up again, but her eyes were shut and her breathing was deep.

_Griffin..._

The Silverwing froze. He looked around quickly to see if anyone else had heard it.

_Can you hear me?_

That voice sounded strangely like his father's. "Dad?" he whispered.

_Great! For a second I thought it wouldn't work. Do you need any more proof, or have I convinced you?_ His tone had become a little smug.

"Okay, okay," Griffin said. "I believe you now. It's just a little weird, that's all. I mean, it's not very often that someone's... er... passed father gets inside their head and talks to them." His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. "Mom misses you so much! She'd love to talk to you-"

_No, Griffin,_ Shade said suddenly. _I think it would be best if no one knew I was here until I convinced them in their dreams. I don't think you'll be very popular if you start telling everyone that you're talking to your dead father._

Griffin nodded understandingly. He should have thought about that. "So, what am I supposed to do again?" he asked.

_Shut your eyes. Let me show you what I saw._

Griffin obeyed. Before he knew it, images began flashing before his mind's eye.

Gigantic trees with strange, fan-like leaves. A monstrous stone building. Bats, Vampyrum, everywhere. Smaller bats, tethered together by vines, digging a tunnel into the ground. A cave filled with metal discs. A round stone with markings all around its edges. Another Vampyrum, much larger than the others, bowing his head humbly before glowing heiroglyphs...

And then it was over.

Griffin recalled each image, going through them and paying close attention to every detail. "What are the discs for?" he said.

_Those are explosives. The humans put them on us and use us in their warfare. Goth is going to use them to blow a hole in the earth, to speed up the progress of the mine._

Not good. This was definitely not good.

"How am I supposed to get there? And what am I supposed to do if I somehow find a way?"

_Not_ I, _Griffin._ We. _We'll have to fly there, and it will be a long trip; that's why we aren't going to Stonehold tomorrow night. We, and as many others as I can convince, will go to the jungle. When we get there, we'll have to find a way to get rid of the discs and free the slaves. I know it seems like I'm throwing you into the fire here, but you have to know that I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think that you could._

"You didn't exactly ask me," Griffin muttered.

_Griffin, will you do this for me?_ Shade asked suddenly. _You don't have to if you don't want to. This is your choice._

Griffin bit his lip. He balked at the idea of going south, the birthplace of all of those harrowing tales he had heard, near anything that would remind him of that terrible God of the Underworld, near the bat that had _murdered_ him.

"Okay," he whispered, his throat horribly dry.


	5. Humans

Goth was marking down the position of a constellation with a chalky piece of stone on the floor of the royal chamber when Phoenix flew in and roosted above him. He tried to ignore her; he didn't feel like arguing right now.

"When will it happen?" she asked.

"When will what happen?"

"The eclipse."

Goth put the stone down and looked up at her. "A little less than a month from now. I can't get a more precise date until that constellation lines up with the horizon," he said, nodding at a cluster of stars through the large, square window in the ceiling next to her.

Phoenix leaned sideways to look out of the window. "It looks like it will take longer than a month for that to happen."

He stood on his hind legs and flexed his shoulders, wincing at the aching pain that came with being hunched over too long. "You'd be surprised at how quickly they move. How is the tunnel going? You haven't killed anymore of my able bodied slaves, I trust?"

Phoenix glared at him. "No."

"Good," he said, genuinely pleased. She had listened to him for once. "If we get close enough to the Underworld, we might have a few gifts left over to offer his Majesty."

Phoenix said nothing, thinking through the plan he had related to her when she had arrived in the Upperworld. He had proven to be much more clever than she had thought. They were to sacrifice one hundred hearts during the eclipse, which only lasted a little over seven minutes. Goth had wanted to ensure that nothing would go wrong this time, and had captured well over that number of bats to sacrifice.

If something were to go awry during the sacrifices, Phoenix was to go and fetch the single explosive disc that they had removed from one of their Vampyrum brothers who had been caught by the Humans. The slaves would be dragged into the pyramid and tied down, then left inside. The disc would be dropped on the pyramid and the hundred lives would reach Cama Zotz, then he would rise to reign over both worlds.

She shuddered with uncontrolled glee.

"Hunt with me?" Goth asked suddenly, drawing Phoenix from her thoughts.

The female tilted her head, watching him carefully. He had never asked her that before. After a few seconds of consideration, she nodded and dropped from her roost.

The pair flew in silence through the jungle, listening carefully for any sign of more prey close by. Goth had successfully dragged a full-grown macaw from its nest inside of a hollow tree, and much to Phoenix' surprise, offered to share it with her. She had politely declined, feeling a little too uncomfortable for some reason, and told him that she had caught the scent of something else. This was a lie, of course, but she was quickly saved when she spied a baby spider monkey nibbling on a fruit nearby. Phoenix had wondered what it was doing out this late, but didn't dwell on it for too long.

Phoenix angled her wings down as they neared a stream, and Goth roosted in a tree close by. He wasn't thirsty at the moment and was planning on eating again before heading back to the pyramid, so there was no point in washing himself just yet.

After she had drunk her fill, Phoenix shook the water from her muzzle and began wiping the blood off of it. As she cleaned herself, she called to him, "Why don't we just sacrifice the slaves all at once at the very beginning of the eclipse with the disc? It would be so much faster."

"The full ritual requires the heart to be removed, and just blowing the pyramid up might not exactly do that to every creature within."

"Oh. Then what was Voxzaco thinking when he dropped the disc on the royal pyramid?"

Goth spat distastefully at the priest's memory. "He was a fool."

Phoenix stood on her hind legs and sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" she asked Goth suddenly.

He frowned and tested the air, pricking his ears up for any sounds. That scent... The Vampyrum's muscles tensed. He would recognized that scent anywhere.

"Phoenix, come up here," he said flatly.

The other looked at him quizzically. "What is it?"

"Don't ask questions, just _get off the ground!"_

The look in his eyes scared her, and she quickly spread her wings to obey.

Goth saw a Human crash clumsily through the undergrowth with a large net and metal stick that shone brightly at one end, another following close behind with what he recognized as an object that fired darts. They were both wearing white suits and masks, just like the Humans that he had last seen. The memory of the man and the darts sent a fierce rage shooting through Goth's veins. He wasn't going back to that fake jungle, not now.

Phoenix had just risen high enough to avoid the fat, clutching hands when the Human with the net leaped forward. He swiped it down over her head, and her wings were caught in the mesh. She hit the ground, hissing and snapping at the Humans' fingers as they tried to reach into the net and pin her down.

One of the Humans removed his mask and the animal hide coverings from his hands, then raised something that looked like a dart, peering closely at it with the aid of the light from his metal stick. The other Human had Phoenix by her neck to keep her from biting, pressing another arm across her back and wings to keep her from thrashing around.

Phoenix continued to snarl and whip her head around, trying to sink her fangs into anything that came close enough.

The light stick that the man with the dart was holding suddenly flickered and died. The other Human took his mask off as well and the pair began having a conversation in their slow, deep voices, then the man with the dart suddenly got up and ran off in the direction that they had come in.

Though her mobility was limited, Phoenix managed to twist her neck far enough to look up where Goth was roosting a moment ago, only to find him gone. "Goth?" she called, beginning to panic. "Where are you?"

The man looked down at Phoenix and began stroking her head gently with the fingers of the hand that held her neck, saying something to her as if she might find his words soothing. Phoenix didn't find his actions and words anywhere close to comforting and growled, trying to turn her head to bite at him again. There was a rustle in the undergrowth and the Human looked up and said something, expecting his companion to emerge from the plants and trees.

What he wasn't expecting was the vengeful mate of the female he had captured to come slashing down at him. The man roared in pain and threw his arms up to defend himself as Goth's claws scored deep gashes on his face, right below his left eye. As Goth turned to make another pass, Phoenix thrashed wildly in the net, tearing at the mesh and trying to escape. The Human grabbed the dart gun and pointed it at Goth, but the latter was already diving upon him again, and he panicked and swung it at him instead. Goth slammed into him and sunk his teeth into his arm, a satisfied growl rumbling in his throat when he felt his fangs pass through the material of the suit and hit flesh. The man dropped the weapon and screamed. The sound startled the two bats, for it was so high pitched, and Goth released the injured limb, taking to the air.

There was a yell from close by, indicating that the other Human had heard all of the commotion and was coming. Goth quickly dove down and attacked the defenseless man once more, snapping at him and battering him with his powerful wings. The Human jumped up and stumbled off into the trees, his arms covering his head as he called to the other man.

Goth dropped down next to the still-trapped Phoenix and tore at the net with his claws and teeth. Phoenix did the same, ripping at the mesh. They had opened up a small hole big enough for her head to get through when the other Human came back, brandishing another dart gun. In one last desperate attempt to release her, Goth gave the mesh a violent jerk with his fangs, and the net ripped wide open. The Vampyrum kicked hard off the ground and headed for the safety of the trees with a furious beating of wings, trying to avoid the darts as the Human fired them.

They had almost lost sight of them when Phoenix cried out as one of them hit her.

"Fight it!" Goth said to her, urging her along. "Keep your eyes open and fight it!"

The female's eyelids began closing, her wingstrokes becoming less powerful. "I can't, Goth," she said groggily. "I'm so tired..."

Goth careened into her and knocked her to the right to keep her from smashing into a tree trunk. Phoenix plummeted downward then, unconscious. Though they weren't far off the ground, she landed hard, rolling a short distance. Goth landed next to her, checking to make sure her wings weren't broken; that was the last thing he needed. Glancing over his shoulder a couple times to make sure that the Humans hadn't caught up, he grabbed her and began dragging her toward a half-uprooted tree that had a hollow beneath it. He pushed her into the small space and, hoping that there would be enough room for both of them, squeezed in after her.

Human voices caught Goth's attention, and his head snapped up. Just in time, he thought. They passed by without even a glance at the hollow, and Goth let out a sigh of relief. He leaned down and turned Phoenix over gently, searching for the bright feathers of the dart. He found it and pulled it out with his teeth. She would wake up soon and they would go back to the pyramid to make sure everything was still okay. Goth found himself gritting his teeth with fury.

Human interference could completely destroy any hope of Zotz being liberated; they would have to be taken care of.


	6. Comfort

Griffin squinted into the howling wind, trying to ignore its arctic bite as it whooshed past his ears. Chinook flew alongside him through the blasting snow, his eyes watering as well. Several other males, including Griffin's grandfather Cassiel, had agreed to join them on their quest. The others that Shade had visited in their dreams had dismissed him as a figment of their imaginations, or had simply been too scared to go.

Chinook shook the ice from his muzzle and peered hard into the white flurry ahead of them, but he could see nothing. He turned to Griffin. "We have to roost, Shade!" he yelled. "There's no way we're going to get very far, not in this storm!"

Griffin had grown used to being addressed as his father, and he turned his eyes on the other bat. "Very well," he said, echoing the words that Shade had just spoken to him.

The group cut to the right and dove toward a large tree, each Silverwing praying that it was hollow. Miraculously, there was a small knot hole in one of the thick limbs, and Griffin crawled through it toward the center of the tree. He shook the snow and ice from his wings and ears and sprayed sound throughout the trunk.

Empty.

"Nocturna be praised," one of the males said, slumping against the inside of the trunk wearily.

_Tell them to check their wings, Griffin. See if they have any spots on them or if they're stiff._

"Check your wings, everyone," Griffin called, obeying his father's orders.

There was a shuffling as every bat quickly looked themselves over. A few murmurs and it was made clear that everyone was fine.

"Hey, Griffin," Chinook greeted the young Silverwing as he roosted beside him. "You all right?"

Griffin nodded and smiled at him, but it was a guilt-ridden smile. He didn't feel that he deserved anyone's concern. He had put all of their lives at risk, and for what? So he wouldn't have to go south by himself. He wished that Chinook would leave him alone and quit worrying about him. The Silverwing almost winced as he remembered that his father was still within him. Could he hear his thoughts? He waited a moment for Shade to reprimand him, but the reproving words never came. Perhaps he couldn't hear them.

"Griffin, I know that you're probably thinking that everyone's blaming you for this-" Chinook said.

Griffin's head snapped up. Had he heard?...

"-but they aren't. None of this is your fault. We chose to come, and none of us have any regrets. We're with you till the end." The older Silverwing wrapped his wings around himself and tried to fight the cold that was seeping into everyone's bones. "We would follow your father -we would follow you- to the Underworld and back. I would do anything for either of you, after what your father did for me. I owe him so much..." He paused, then met Griffin's eyes, and as the young Silverwing looked into them, he saw that they were filled with sorrow.

"I should have gone with you," he said, his gaze becoming glossy. "Maybe, if I had gone with you, you would still be here."

_Chinook..._

Griffin looked away in embarrassment as a tear rolled down Chinook's cheek. He hadn't been expecting this. What was he supposed to do? He could have sighed in relief as his father's voice filled the silence within his mind.

_Griffin... I want you to tell him... tell him that it isn't his fault. Tell him that I don't want him to worry about it. Tell him that... if it makes him feel any better... that I understand him for not wanting to go, and that... his brother forgives him._

Griffin put a claw on Chinook's shoulder and slowly repeated what Shade had just said.

Chinook smiled crookedly, his furry face matted with tears. "Thank you," he managed to choke out. "Thank you, Shade. Thank you, Griffin." He nodded and turned away, burying his face in his wings.

_Thank you, Griffin. For telling him that for me._

"Sure thing, Dad," Griffin whispered. He shut his eyes and pulled his wings tight around his body, doing his best to shut out the chill. The frost and blizzards had come incredibly early this year, and he hoped that everyone was okay back at Tree Haven. He wondered what his mother was doing right now, what Luna was doing.

Luna.

He missed her terribly, even though they had only been gone a few days. Shade had advised against telling anyone that they were not going to Stonehold, and Griffin had reluctantly agreed that it would be best for no one but those who were going to know. Luna, Marina, and Ariel would all worry until their fur fell out, and everyone else would think that they were crazy. To prevent anyone from stopping them, the group had flown with those toward Stonehold for a little ways, then veered away from their initial course while they all hunted for the evening. Griffin prayed that a messenger hadn't been sent back to Tree Haven with news that they had all disappeared.

Luna couldn't remember crying so long or hard in her entire life than after Griffin left for Stonehold. Marina had tried to comfort her, but the tears kept flowing like an endless river. Eventually, she had cried herself to sleep, her face buried in Marina's bright fur, the older bat's reassuring whispers still in her ear. For some reason, she had had a bad feeling about Griffin leaving, and she had protested up to the very last second, but in vain. There was no way that he could stay, nor any way that she could go with him. It would only be for a few months, she had told herself. Just a few months. But no matter how many times she said that to herself, that bad feeling stayed with her, gnawing away at the back of her mind like a rat.

Something was going to happen to him, she had convinced herself. Something very bad was going to happen.


	7. The Building

Goth shifted in his sleep as a beam of sunlight was reflected off of a puddle of rainwater near the enormous window, dancing across his eyelids.

"Dad."

He grunted and pulled his wings tighter around him.

"Psst, _Dad..."_

Goth jumped as something nipped him on the ear. "Wha-?" he cried.

A newborn Vampyrum that could only be described as a mirror image of the king himself was clinging to him, nose to nose. "Hey, Dad."

"Oh, it's you, Vulcan," Goth sighed.

"Mom wants to talk to you," Vulcan whispered.

He spread his wings to their full three foot span, stretching his muscles and yawning cavernously. "Did she say why?" he asked after he had composed himself.

The newborn shrugged, bewildered. "I think she said something about, er..." He squinted as he tried to remember. "Um, something about HumaAAAAANS!"

Goth had grabbed the young bat and slung him across his shoulders in mid-sentence, shooting out of the room like an arrow from a bow. "Hold on!" he yelled to him. But the young one wasn't the least bit afraid.

"Wheeeeeee!" he squealed, holding onto his father's ears. "Go fast, Dad! Go fast!"

Even in the current situation, Goth found it impossible to deny his son's wish and beat his wings harder, swerving dangerously under a gnarled limb, blasting through a bunch of ferns and upsetting a family of birds, nearly colliding with a panicked toucan who hadn't seen him coming, and zooming across a pond, breaking its smooth surface. The pair burst through the foliage and arrived at the mine, braking hard in the air.

Vulcan was laughing and hugging his father's neck. "Do it again!"

Goth circled the mine, his gaze roving across the laboring bats. Phoenix was nowhere to be found.

"Phoenix!" he called, diving lower to get a closer look. The slaves cringed and cowered as he passed over them, whimpering fearfully. Goth landed next to one of the Vampyrum guards and asked her if she'd seen Phoenix.

The female bowed her head respectfully. "She was here a while ago, sire, but I'm afraid I haven't seen her since then."

Goth stood on his hind legs and peered over her, trying to catch a glimpse of a mighty crest anywhere in the sea of slaves.

Vulcan climbed up and leaned between his father's ears, grinning down at the guard. "Hi, Ceres!"

She smiled and nodded at him. "Hello there, Prince Vulcan. You're staying out of trouble, yes?"

The newborn opened his mouth to answer her when Goth suddenly spread his wings and kicked off the ground, and he barely had time to grab hold of his father's fur again to prevent himself from tumbling off his back. Holding on tight, he saw a figure headed toward them.

"Mom!"

Phoenix hovered in front of Goth, her face cold and bitter. "We've brought down the two that attacked us, Goth."

"Where are they?" Goth asked.

She flicked her head over her shoulder. "Back that way."

"Show me."

Phoenix frowned and nodded at his head. Goth looked up and saw Vulcan perched precariously between his ears again.

"Vulcan, why don't you go play with Saturn?" she said.

The young prince pouted. "But why?"

"Do as your mother says," Goth said sternly.

Vulcan spread his wings and took off back toward the pyramid without another word.

Goth flew alongside his mate and the trio of Vampyrum soldiers who had claimed to have helped take care of the Humans. They related the entire story to him on the way, but he was barely listening. He wanted to see these Humans, make sure that they were truly dead.

One of the soldiers had a gash across his forehead that the others said was result of when one of the Humans swung its light stick at him. He braked suddenly, causing the others to follow. "Here," he said, nodding at a clearing.

Goth could see the poles of the Humans' thin shelter reaching up through the veil of vegetation, glinting strangely in the setting sun's light. It almost looked like they were steeped in blood. He landed on a branch and crawled out over it until he was directly over the clearing, Phoenix following him.

The entire Human camp was destroyed. The shelter was ripped in dozens of places where the soldiers' claws had scored, and shiny objects littered the ground. There was smoke coming out of several of the large metal boxes, and from one of the smaller boxes, a hissing sound could be heard, broken every now and then by a Human voice. Their fire had been scattered, and the coals lay smoldering in the grass. Goth moved forward a little and finally saw what he was looking for.

The two Humans that had attacked him and his queen were lying on the ground only a short distance apart, their flesh torn to shreds. Goth nodded with satisfaction and spread his wings to gain his soldiers' attention. "You have done well, Zotz will be pleased. We must not let these monsters destroy what we have worked so hard for, we have come too close! More of you will be sent to scout out the rest of our jungle, to make sure that there are no more of them left. You know what to do if you come across any, yes?"

The soldiers growled, flexing their claws and licking at their still-bloody fangs.

Griffin went over the plan in his head for the millionth time, his stomach doing another somersault as it had each time he thought about it in the past four days: fly into the Human building and live in the fake forest for a little while. Let the Humans sew metal discs on their bellies and put things in their ears that made them fly into buildings and explode. Have the Human flying machine take them to the South and stop Cama Zotz from creating eternal night.

Easy, right?

He had asked his father many times how he planned to defeat the demon god once more, but Shade always gave him the same answer: 'We'll figure it out when we get there.' Needless to say, Shade hadn't helped to ease his nerves the least bit, and the encouragement that he continued to give his son flew right over Griffin's head.

"How far till we reach this building?" one of the Silverwings called to him.

_Not far now. Less than a hundred wingbeats,_ Shade said.

"We're almost there," Griffin told the other male. "Less than a hundred wingbeats."

There was an audible sigh of relief from the group. Even though they were about to be taken captive by a bunch of Humans, they had been assured by Shade through Griffin that no harm would come to them. They were ready to rest their weary wings and get some food in their bellies; the winter had become harsh, and hardly any insects could be found anymore. The Silverwings were lucky to catch a few snow fleas every now and then, and the silence that followed when everyone settled down to sleep was always filled with the grumbling of empty stomachs.

Griffin's ears pricked up as he heard something ahead of them, something that sounded like a soft singing. As they flew through the icy, barren forest the sound became gradually louder, and eventually every bats' ears were filled with the sweet, alluring song.

_That's the Human building creating that, not Silverwings,_ Shade said. _You'll see a metal opening when you reach the building. The music will lead you into it, and that will open up to the fake forest._

Shade didn't seem at all distracted by the voices, but Griffin was having great difficulty simply processing what his father had said. "What? Oh, all right. Wow, can you not hear it, Dad?"

_I can, it just doesn't really have any effect on me. I guess you living bats are more prone to being led into danger than us dead bats,_ Shade chuckled.

Griffin didn't say anything. The mention of danger had brushed aside the foggy sensation that the music had created in his mind for an instant, and Griffin realized that he was beating his wings furiously, as if he were afraid that he might lose the lovely sound. He slowed down a little bit, allowing those that were behind him to fly over him and go ahead. He suddenly felt the cold wind blowing his fur again, and the burning in his muscles returned, reminding him of the long and difficult flight. His stomach ached with hunger, and his throat was dry.

Stopping to land on a nearby branch and rest seemed like the best idea in the world at that moment, but before he could, the song wrapped itself around him again, pulling him insistently toward the Human building, which was now in sight. All that Griffin could remember after that was that he was the last one to make it to the building, and when he found the source of the sweet music, he threw himself down into the metal chute without a second thought.

After that, darkness.


	8. Broken Paradise

_Griffin, wake up._

Blackness.

_Griffin, can you hear me?_

So tired.

_Griffin!_

"Griffin, are you all right?

The young Silverwing groaned and tried to force his eyes open. Through blurred vision, he saw Cassiel leaning over him, a worried look on his face.

"You fell, Griffin. You hit the ground really hard," Chinook said over Cassiel's shoulder. "Can you get up?"

Griffin pushed himself up off the dirt, gritting his teeth when his muscles screamed in protest at the effort. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Cassiel breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Nocturna."

"Nocturna has nothing to do with it," a voice spat viciously.

The three Silverwings looked up suddenly and saw an old Hoary bat roosting in the tree above them. She was silver, from ear tip to tail, with a short little beard and gray, cataract-covered eyes. A band gleamed dully on left forearm.

"Nocturna doesn't exist," the bat hissed. "Everything was a lie."

_It can't be,_ Shade said softly.

"Never mind her, Griffin," Cassiel said, and Griffin detected anger and something like pity in his voice. "She's been carrying on like that since we first arrived here." He spread his wings and flew over to roost in a tree a good distance from the raving female.

"A lie!" the bat cried. "That was all it was and all it will ever be. Paradise was a lie!"

Griffin followed him and Chinook, casting wary glances over his shoulder at the old bat. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's crazy," Chinook growled. "Her name is Arcadia. She was here when your father and I first arrived. Apparently she never left."

_This place is so different,_ Shade mused. _You could hear insects everywhere and there were so many bats._

"They never came for me!" Arcadia was wailing now. "They took the others, but they never came for me! I'm the only one left to suffer!"

Griffin wasn't sure why, but he felt sorry for the old bat. She was sobbing, burying her face in her wings. "Who is she talking about? The Humans?"

"Who knows?" Chinook replied.

Cassiel put a claw on his shoulder and turned him away from the wretched creature. "Her mind is gone, just ignore her. Though I must say that I can understand why someone would go insane living here for so long." He grimaced. "The beetles are horrible."

It was then that Griffin remembered the yawning pit in his stomach, and he licked at his dry lips. He could use a drink and something to eat. "Where are the bugs? I don't see any."

"Down there," Chinook said, nodding at a pile of rocks. "They come out of tiny holes in the rocks. They aren't the most appetizing things in the world, but they're something to eat."

Griffin dived down toward the rocks, landing on the biggest of them and searching the surface of it. Sure enough, there were holes all over it, and little beetles were crawling out of them. He snatched one up, chewing vigorously at first, but gradually slowing down. It had to be the most disgusting thing he had ever eaten. Swallowing with difficulty, he winced at the dreadful taste it had left in his mouth and began searching for water.

"There's a stream on the far side of the forest!" Cassiel called with a laugh. "Hurry, or that taste will be with you for the rest of the night!"

The young Silverwing was shooting through the trees (all of which had their leaves), headed for the stream, when he noticed how quiet everything was. From somewhere, it sounded like above him, a cricket was screeching the same call over and over. He saw only four other bats besides the Silverwings that he had come with, and they all stared at him fearfully as he flew past, trying to hide in the leaves. Their eyes were hollow-looking, their fur was oily and unkempt, and their ribs were showing through their fur. They looked like they were suffering a famine.

_I recognize them,_ Shade muttered. _All of them._

The water was cold and refreshing to his burning throat and parched tongue, and he was glad when the hideous taste was rinsed from his mouth. Truly taking in his surroundings for the first time, Griffin saw that the stars seemed dimmer, and that the other half of the forest that he thought he had seen earlier was actually another wall with trees painted on it. He sniffed at a plant and realized that it smelled strange. It wasn't real.

This place reminded him, with a sick feeling, of the Underworld's Oasis.

Griffin flew over to a tree and sniffed its branches, its leaves. This one was real. Did the Humans think that he didn't know the difference? As he moved along the limb of another tree, he was suddenly blasted by a jet of hot air. He fell backward with a startled cry and twisted off the limb, falling for a moment before unfurling his wings and taking flight. Looking over his shoulder at the barred opening, he realized that that must be how the Humans were keeping the forest warm.

_Look out, Griffin!_

He snapped his head back around just in time to smash into something invisible and slide to the ground.

_Are you okay? I forgot to mention these, _Shade said apologetically. _The roof is exactly like that, too._ _You might want to start using your echo vision while flying around. _

"I don't understand," Griffin said as his echoes bounced back to him. "It's like it's there and it isn't at the same time!"

_I know. I don't really understand it, either. Just be careful from now on._

"I don't know how you could possibly have stayed here so long," Griffin said. "This place is terrible."

_It's changed a lot. When I was here, there were thousands of bats of all different colonies. Moths and other bugs were everywhere, not just those beetles. _

Griffin muttered something about ending up like Arcadia and flew back through the summer forest to find his grandfather and Chinook. As he left, he felt the eyes of the other bats boring into the back of his skull.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and even though they had made him gag, Griffin found himself eating more of the beetles. He was so hungry that he had almost gotten over the taste. The Humans still hadn't shown up yet, but that didn't worry him. He wasn't looking forward to the moment when they would put him in their flying machine and take him South. Cassiel and he had tried to hold a conversation about what would happen when they did, but every time the Humans were mentioned, Arcadia would begin howling madly and crying. Griffin wasn't sure how she kept hearing them, for she was a good distance away, but the noise was so horrendous that they eventually decided to drop the subject and went to sleep.

Griffin wasn't sure how much more of this he could stand.


	9. Impasse

The females back at Tree Haven had begun to panic. Winter seemed to have arrived far too early this year, but there was no way that they could seek out the warmth and protection of Hibernaculum. Their children had yet to be born, and it seemed too risky to try to make it to the cave behind the waterfall; without their fur, despite the mothers' body heat, the newborns would freeze to death. But there was hardly any food left, and the temperature seemed to drop lower each night. Needless to say, all of the females were frightened to death for themselves and their unborn children.

Luna was huddled against Marina in the hollow, cavernous trunk of Tree Haven, waiting for the Elders to come down from the summit to announce their decision. The bats chattered nervously, some even crying, about what might happen. If they were to stay, would there be enough food until the newborns grew their fur and became strong enough to fly for themselves? And what if they left for Hibernaculum? Would all of the newborns die? There was much talk of a 'missing generation.'

"Don't listen to them," Marina told Luna after seeing her eyes begin to tear up. "The elders would never let anything bad happen to us."

"I know," Luna sniffed. "I'm just... scared. I'm scared that I won't be able to keep it alive."

Marina wrapped her wings around Luna and her swollen belly. "You'll do fine. I'll help you."

Luna snuggled into Marina's bright, luxurious fur, half-wishing that she was her mother. Roma had protested greatly against Luna and Griffin becoming mates, since her dying in the first place had been his fault. She harbored a hatred for Griffin, and had flatly told her daughter that was most certainly _not_ to become his mate. Luna had tried to get her to understand that Griffin had saved her from the _Underworld_, had risked his life for her, and that she loved him no matter what he had done in the past. Still, Roma was not moved. Luna and her mother didn't talk much anymore because of this argument.

Still, she had Marina, who doted upon her and loved her as if she were her own daughter.

There was a sudden hush as the elders flew down from the uppermost branches of the great tree and landed in the middle of the frightened congregation. The air was charged with anticipation, and wings creaked anxiously as the chief elder, Lucretia, stepped forward and spread her wings to stop the whispering that had begun. The other three elders, Aurora, Bathsheba, and Shade's mother, Ariel, waited behind her. Luna saw Bathsheba's eyes flash with jealousy as Lucretia began to speak, and she knew that she believed she should be the one in her place.

"Silverwings! Lucretia cried in her frail, reedy voice, "Hear me! We have reached an impasse. There is no longer enough food to support us here in our forests."

The tree was suddenly filled with cries of horror and objections as to leaving. Some bats were yelling questions at the elders, but they could not hear them, nor would they have answered them if they had.

"Enough! Lucretia roared, and the colony was immediately silenced. The old Silverwing was renowned for her quiet, gentle voice, and few thought her capable of raising it as she had now. "As I was saying," she continued, "there is not enough food left. We cannot stay here, you all know that. We have been left with one choice, and that is to leave for Hibernaculum. Now that we are free to travel by daylight, our journey will be shorter. If any newborns happen to be born to new mothers along the way," she added, "those of you who already children will be expected to advise them and give them assistance if they require it."

Luna looked up and caught Roma staring morosely at her, and, embarrassed, she quickly looked away. Marina would take care of her. She had told her so.

"We will leave tomorrow evening!" Lucretia was saying now. "Get some rest and prepare yourselves, for it will be a long flight."

The elders departed back to the summit, leaving the females to yammer their fears to one another:

"The young ones will never survive!"

"We should stay here, until they can fly on their own!"

"I'm not going!"

As she listened to them, the sick feeling in Luna's stomach worsened. She wished that they would all just shut up.

Marina tightened her wings around her, nuzzling her gently. "Pin your ears flat, Luna. We need to get some sleep if we're going to be ready for tomorrow."

Luna did as she was told, blocking the voices out until they were nothing but a steady hum. She shut her eyes tight, but sleep could not find her. She was thinking about Griffin now, about the child inside her. Luna had been nervous about becoming a mother before, but now, with the circumstances being more complicated than ever, she felt completely hopeless. Even with Marina's help, would she be able to take care of her child? What if she gave birth before they made it to Hibernaculum? What if the freezing temperatures killed it? What would Griffin say?..

"I'm going to be sick," she said quickly, pulling away from Marina and shooting toward and out the knothole. She sunk her claws into the bark of one of the great tree's branches, leaned over the side, and vomited. Somewhere in the distance, two owls were calling to one another. Luna coughed and wiped at her mouth, fervently wishing that the stream wasn't frozen over. The beating of wings behind her made her start, but they were not feathered, and Luna glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Marina.

"Luna?"

The young Silverwing blinked at her mother, then turned away. She didn't want to have another argument.

"Oh Luna, I'm so sorry," Roma said suddenly, coming over to wrap her wings around her surprised offspring.

As Roma clutched her child to her, a wonderful sense of eradication washed over Luna. Everything that had been hacking away at her nerves suddenly seemed to melt away within her mother's embrace, and before she knew it, Luna was sobbing against her mother's breast.

"My little one," Roma said, her voice filled with tears, "please don't cry. I've been so foolish, Luna. Please forgive me, please..."

Looking up into Roma's tear-matted face, she smiled weakly. "It's okay, Mom. I understand. You were just trying to protect me."

Her mother gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you. Now, it's really too cold to be out here right now," she said softly. "If you come back inside with me I'll give you some parental advice on parenthood."

"Okay," Luna said with a grin, and the pair began crawling along the branch, back toward the knothole.

Marina smiled to herself as she watched Roma grooming Luna and talking with her. She was glad that they weren't angry with each other anymore. Earlier, when Luna had flown outside, Marina had begun to follow her, but almost collided with Roma at the knothole. They had stopped and stared at one another, then Marina had nodded at the exit. Roma had then thanked her softly and flown after her daughter.

"I see that Roma and her daughter are reunited."

Marina started and turned to see Ariel roosting next to her, watching the two females. "Oh, I didn't notice you were there!"

Ariel laughed. "You're tired, it's okay."

"Yeah," Marina yawned. "Aren't you?"

Ariel sighed and closed her eyes. "More so than you could ever imagine."

The ruckus that had been going on earlier had dimmed down quite a bit, and some Silverwings were even already asleep. Marina had huddled up against Ariel for to share their warmth, but couldn't sleep despite the quiet that was quickly spreading throughout Tree Haven. Luna wasn't snuggled up against her, and sleeping without her there seemed strange. Frowning, Marina rustled her wings and shifted around a little.

"Marina, are you awake?"

The Brightwing opened her eyes to see Luna right next to her, her mother with her.

"Is it okay if we both roost over here now?"

Marina smiled at them both. "Of course, Luna. We're all family."


	10. Father and Son

A full moon, surrounded by glittering stars, shone like a silver coin over the vast expanse of jungle, casting a silver light upon the dense canopy. It had been raining heavily earlier, but now, the rainfall had lightened to a cool mist. The insects of the night screeched and chirruped loudly alongside the croaking of frogs and the squawking of birds.

In a rare glade in which the moonlight was able to pour onto the ground, a pale brown lizard was lying upon a stone, its eyes slightly glazed over. The rock had been so warm and lovely after being in the sun all day, but now it was beginning to cool off. The lizard would need to find someplace else to lie. The reptile lifted its foot to take a step, but its claws never touched the ground.

Vulcan flipped the lizard up into his mouth, swallowing it whole so that he could feel it wriggle down his throat. Saturn, Camael, Thalia, and Nona flew on either side of him, watching his every move in complete awe. Like his father had told him he had, Vulcan had grown quickly, and was already as large as his mother. He was the largest of the newborns, with sleek, dark fur and the mighty crest that he had inherited from his mother. Being the most powerful hunter and flyer, he often received venomous glances and stares of admiration. He reveled in them both.

"Hey, Vulcan!"

The prince turned to see Saturn pull alongside him. Saturn had been born extremely late, and was far behind even the smallest of the newborns in growth. As he and Vulcan had gotten older, the prince had outgrown him until, against Vulcan's gargantuan stature, he didn't even look like a Vampyrum. Not that the prince thought that size mattered. Saturn was very well versed in the area of constellations and gods, and Vulcan liked talking with him about them. Saturn had already decided that he wanted to become a priest to Cama Zotz, to the great joy of his parents, and spent a lot of time studying the stars.

"Do you want to go to the waterfall?" he asked. "We could jump off the top of the tall rocks."

Camael, one of the more promising newborns, flew in front of Saturn and cut him off, forcing him to fall back. "We should go find one of the Human camps that the soldiers destroyed and see if we can find anything."

Vulcan shot him a dark look, and, without responding to the other bat, dropped back until he was flying alongside Saturn. "That sounds like fun, but I can't," he said to him. "I have to go see my father."

"Oh, yes. I forgot about the lessons," Saturn replied. "What exciting subject are you learning about now?"

Vulcan rolled his eyes. "I don't remember, but I'm not looking forward to it."

Goth had been teaching his son about the Heavens since he was a small child, and at first, Vulcan had loved to roost next to his father and listen to him. Now, however, he reluctantly flew to the Royal Chamber every other night to find him. It wasn't because he found the lessons boring, in fact, he loved to hear the stories and interesting things that Goth had to say, it was just that his father hated when he questioned them. It wasn't that Vulcan doubted what Goth said, he was simply curious. Vulcan couldn't help but wonder why the stars moved the way that they did, or why the moon didn't stay round all of the time. He thought about the way Zotz was imprisoned in the Underworld, and he marveled that the god, with all of his strength and might, could not simply break the barrier that divided his world from the other.

When Vulcan was small, Goth had been enormously fond of him. He was incredibly strong and fast for his age, and he obeyed Goth's every wish without hesitation. But as the prince grew, he began to think for himself. Goth had been proud of his son's independence at first, but eventually it began to cause their relationship to fall apart. They argued with one another a lot, more often than Goth and Phoenix had done in the past. Now, Phoenix was the one to which the title 'peace maker' had been given. Vulcan had a temper as fiery and dangerous as his father's, and if it weren't for her separating them when they began to argue, one of them might have killed the other already.

"Well, when he's done with you, come find me and I'll finish telling you about Amphion and Aquilo," the little Vampyrum said with a grin.

Vulcan smiled at the mention of the two mythical heroes. His father had told him the story already, but he hadn't been able to ask any questions. With Saturn, he could ask anything he wished, and he always had an answer for him. That was one of the reasons that Vulcan loved to sit and listen to him speak.

"Okay. See ya'." Vulcan did a flip and turned about, headed back toward the pyramid with his enormous wings slicing the air.

Saturn veered off from the group, for now that Vulcan was no longer keeping a slow pace that he knew his friend could easily follow, they were beginning to leave him behind. The runt swerved through the trees and vines, heading deeper into the jungle. He would find the tree that he and Vulcan always met at after the prince's lessons, and wait for him there.

Relaxing on the warm stone steps near the top of the pyramid, Phoenix saw her son emerge from the foliage, flying much more slowly than usual. She knew where he was going, and that explained the reason for his dragging flight. As he neared her on his course to the Royal Chamber, Phoenix sighed and spread her wings to follow him. She would need to be closer if they began arguing again so that she could stop them from tearing each other's throats out.

As Vulcan entered the uppermost chamber of the pyramid, Phoenix landed next to the broad entrance and rested there. She hadn't slept for almost a full day now, for she had been so busy with the mine and the Human searches. The night was warm, and although she knew she should be listening for any trouble within the chamber, she slipped easily into a dark, delicious sleep...

"... not for you to decide!"

"When I'm king, it will be!"

"Keep it up and that time may never come!"

"It might be sooner than you think!"

"Is that a challenge?!"

Phoenix scrambled upright and shot into the room to find Goth and Vulcan circling one another, fangs bared. But before she could say anything or put herself between the two of them, Vulcan lunged at his father, snarling. Goth easily dodged his assault and punched out with a wing, knocking him off balance. Phoenix saw Goth raise his claw to slash the back of his son's neck, and, without thinking, she hurled herself at him. Goth hadn't seen her coming and hit the floor as she cannoned into his side.

Meanwhile, Vulcan had regained his balance and jumped on top of his father, who was still on the ground. Vulcan was strong, but not as experienced as Goth in battle, and was quickly thrown off. Phoenix tried to cling to Goth and prevent him from going after his son, but the enraged male struck her hard across the face with his wing, and she fell back to the floor with the force of the blow.

"Stop it!" she screamed as she struggled upright again. "Don't hurt him!"

But Goth wasn't listening. With a ferocious growl, he launched himself at Vulcan, and the young Vampyrum could only tense up as his father slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. Pinned and defenseless, Vulcan glared up at Goth as he waited for him to tear out his heart.

Phoenix uttered a shrill cry of agony as Goth opened his jaws and sunk them into his son's flesh.

Vulcan's roar of pain mixed with Phoenix's voice as thrashed beneath his father, but the king was still too strong.

Wrenching his fangs from the bloody mass of fur that was Vulcan's right shoulder, Goth brought his face close to his son's and growled, "If you ever try something like that again, I _will_ rip out your heart. Maybe that scar will remind you next time who is the king of this colony." Goth got off his son and turned to leave, then stopped when he saw Phoenix. It was as if he had only just noticed that she was there.

The male's thumb claw had made a gash in her cheek when he had struck her, and blood flowed freely from the cut. With tears welling in her eyes, Phoenix watched him stare at her for a moment, open his mouth as if he were going to say something, then close it again. Goth spread his wings and flew from the Royal Chamber without glancing back at her or his wounded son.

Phoenix hurried over to Vulcan after Goth had left and looked at his shoulder. The bigger Vampyrum had gotten his fangs in there good, and there would definitely be a scar left.

Gritting his teeth, Vulcan tried to get up, but his mother pushed him back down.

"Don't, just stay still. I'll go fetch the royal surgeons," she said to him.

After the surgeons had spread a soothing mixture of crushed berries and leaves on the prince's shoulder, Phoenix sat alone with him, grooming him as she had done when he was little.

Normally, Vulcan would have protested and tried to pull away from her, but he was really in no position to be struggling. The searing pain in his shoulder had dulled to a throb, but it flared up again whenever he tried to move.

Running her claws through his fur, Phoenix said softly, "You shouldn't have provoked him like that."

Vulcan snorted, but didn't answer. He didn't want to talk about his father.

"Please, I don't want anything to happen to you," his mother said, laying her head against his. "Promise me you won't talk back to him again."

After a moment of silence, Vulcan muttered something that sounded like, "All right."

Phoenix sighed in relief and hugged him to her, being careful not to touch his injured shoulder. Once Vulcan went to sleep, she was going to go find Goth.

They needed to talk.


	11. Trapped

Griffin stared at the whisker-thin outline of the door, waiting, praying that it would open. He was roosting in the same tree, right next to the door, just as he did every day after eating and flying around the forest once or twice to keep his wings strong.

Griffin had no idea how long they had been trapped in the building. A week? A month? Several months? Where were the Humans? Did they leave a long time ago and not come back? The thought of spending the rest of his life in the fake forest made him panicky. He didn't want to live here forever. He wanted to see his home again. He wanted to see Luna. Almost all of the other Silverwings had begun doubting if the Humans were ever going to come, and even Chinook and Cassiel had started looking for ways to escape.

"Never coming!" Arcadia hissed at him from what the Silverwings dubbed the 'loony tree.' "They didn't come for me, and they won't come for you!"

"Shut up," Griffin snarled at her. Ignoring her had become impossible, and her constant jeering made the young Silverwing irritable.

"Never, never, never!" the insane old bat sang.

_I wish they_ would _have taken her,_ Shade muttered.

"Where are they, Dad?" Griffin asked his father for the billionth time.

_Just wait and be patient. They're here, I know they are._

"You'll die here!" Arcadia was saying now. "You'll grow old and die here, just like the rest of us!"

Spreading his wings, Griffin abruptly lit from his branch. He had endured the old female's scorn and mad laughter long enough, and if he didn't find a place where he couldn't hear her quickly, he would end up doing something that he would regret. Beating his wings hard, he was able to escape her mocking voice just before his nerves snapped. Griffin hadn't been paying attention to where he was flying, and now found himself near the back corner of the fake forest, where all of the other bats that had been left along with Arcadia hid. Griffin had tried speaking to them before to ask them what had happened to the Humans, but everytime he got close to them, they vanished amid the foliage. It was as if they were scared of him.

Griffin roosted on a the limb of a spindly oak and tried to collect his jangled nerves, breathing deeply and shutting his eyes. But no matter what he did, a horrible voice kept whispering to him from the depths of his mind:

What will you do if they never come? You'll be trapped in here forever. And what about the others who followed you? They'll blame you for making them prisoners. You should have gone alone. This is your fault. Because of you, they'll never see their mates or children ever again, and neither will you. This is all your fault...

Griffin's eyes snapped open and he bolted from the branch to the stream, the hideous voice still hissing in his mind. Landing clumsily on the soft grass next to the bank, he crawled to the edge and plunged his head under the surface. The shock of the cold water was enough to make the voice disappear all together, and he pulled face out of it in relief. Batting water from his ears, he glanced up the stream and saw one of the reclusive bats, a Graywing, lapping at the water. He didn't try to speak to her, for he knew that as soon as she caught sight of him she would dive back into the cover of the leaves. Griffin was turning away to leave and go back to his tree next to the door when something hit him.

The stream, of course! His mother had told him how she and his father had tried to escape from the forest through it, and how it led through all of the other different rooms where other creatures were held. The way out had to be at the end! Griffin was so pleased with this remembered piece of information that he did not notice the small cracking sound behind him as a twig snapped, nor did he see the Graywing start and shoot back into the trees. He opened his wings and prepared to kick off the ground, wanting to share this with Chinook and Cassiel as quickly as possible, when something cold touch him and a jolt of numbness spread throughout his body, and his vision went black.

Luna, Marina, Ariel, and Roma stayed together as best as they could as the colony flew through the crisp night air. It had snowed earlier, blanketing the ground and trees with a layer of white. Icicles hung on bushes and branches, glistening in the light of the sickle moon with a cold, dangerous beauty.

Marina had been right when she had told Luna about how much more difficult the trip would be since she had the extra weight of her unborn child to carry; Luna's wings were already singing with pain. While hunting, she had never really noticed the weight, but now, she felt as if her wings would buckle at any moment, and she would go plummeting into the snow.

Luna's belly had been hurting, too. The pain had taken the form of a throbbing ache, and it had yet to go away. When it had first started, a few hours into their flight, Luna had dismissed it as nothing. Hunger pains, that was all. Gradually, however, the pain had increased, and now she found herself grimacing.

Suddenly, the pain increased tenfold, and she cried out, causing all of the females about her to look over in alarm. It was as if a fire was raging in her middle.

"Luna, are you okay?" Ariel asked quickly, pulling in close.

"Is she all right?"

"Are we going to stop?"

"She can't possibly be ready this early!"

"Luna, is it time? Do you need to stop?" Roma said, her face clouded with concern.

"We'll stay with you until it's finished," Marina promised.

Luna shook her head, the pain having eased back to its first state. "No, I'm fine," she said, giving them what she thought was a reassuring smile. It wasn't time yet, but with a terrible feeling that made her throat dry, she knew that she would not make it to Hibernaculum.


	12. Regrets

Phoenix waited on the moonlit steps of the pyramid near the of the Royal Chamber that she and Goth shared. She knew that the king would return here before dawn, as he always did. Vulcan was asleep inside, his wound finally no longer bleeding. Rage burned in her veins every time she thought about her son's injured shoulder. The surgeons had said that they believed he would still be able to fly once it healed, but there would definitely be some permanent damage.

In other words, her son would be crippled.

Phoenix' eyes glittered fiercely as she caught sight of Goth flying toward the pyramid. The male flew not into the Royal Chamber that housed his injured son, but into the chamber right below it, without so much as a glance in her direction. Phoenix opened her wings and followed him, finding him roosting in the very center of the ceiling.

Goth was stretching his wings. He folded them against his body and gazed at her impassively. "What do you want?"

Phoenix roosted as well, but put a wingspan and a half's distance between them. Her body shuddered with fury. "The surgeons say he'll be crippled," she said behind clenched teeth.

"Then he'll still be able to fly," Goth replied flatly.

Phoenix was so stunned that, for a moment, she could only stare at him with her mouth agape. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Goth, I don't think you've even realized what you've done! He's your son-"

"I know exactly what I've done; I've given him a warning, and he'll do well to heed it!" Goth snarled at her, his volcanic temper already rising.

"You've crippled him!" Phoenix shrieked. "How could you do that to your only son? Whoever heard of a crippled king?!"

"If you think that he is no longer suitable as an heir to the throne, it isn't as if you're too old to have another now, is it?" he said derisively, giving her a wry smirk.

Phoenix had no response to this and said nothing. Quivering with wrath, she involuntarily flexed her claws, wishing with every fiber of her being that she could slash his throat open. "You'll regret this, Goth," she growled.

"Do you want to know what I regret, Phoenix?" he asked coldly. "I regret rescuing you from those Humans. I should have let them have you."

"I bet you would have, Goth," she snapped, "if Zotz wouldn't have punished you for it."

The king laughed mirthlessly. "Well, aren't you clever?"

Phoenix abruptly launched herself at him with a snarl, claws extended. She crashed into Goth, knocking him from his roost, and the pair fell to the stone floor, her on top of him. Goth snarled with pain and anger as her claws scored deep gouges across his chest, and then, like he had done to his son, threw her off by lashing out viciously with his mighty wings. Phoenix was on the floor for only a second before hurling herself back at him, but this time, Goth was ready for her. He caught her and twisted his body around so that he fell on top of her, and, just as quickly as the battle had begun, it was over.

With Goth's claws digging viciously into her shoulders, her wings pinned by his, Phoenix panted heavily, her eyes radiating pure hatred. "Get off of me."

"No," Goth said calmly. "I won't. I'm beginning to think that you need something to remind you who is king, like Vulcan. What do you think?"

Phoenix' eyes widened and she began squirming beneath him, trying to push him off. "Let me go!" She yelped when Goth's lethally sharp claws sunk further into her soft flesh.

"Enough," he growled. Running a wickedly sharp thumbclaw across her neck, he said darkly, "I may not be able to slit your throat-" he paused and brought his glistening, hound-like fangs close to her face, "-or tear out your heart. But there are other things I _can_ do. Things that will make you wish I had killed you."

"I'm not scared of you," she retorted. Another squeeze of his sharp claws silenced her.

"I know that you don't want me to hurt you, Phoenix," he said softly. "From now on, you will address me with all the respect due to the king of this colony, or I will give you a scar to match your son's."

Vulcan lay on the cool stone floor of the Royal Chamber, staring up at the dark ceiling. He had heard everything that had passed between his parents except Goth's last words, and inwardly he was seething with rage.

Crippled. Phoenix hadn't told him that he would be _crippled_.

And his father. Goth wasn't the least bit upset about the news; he had thought that what he had done to him was justified. Then, he had even suggested that his mate bear another heir to hide the shame of his first son!

Hearing his mother cry out again, Vulcan tried to get up, to go to her, but his wound immediately opened up again and began bleeding, and he dropped back down, panting from the great exertion of that small action. He despised being weak, and with a cold feeling, he wondered how long he would be like this. Wounded. Defenseless. _Crippled._

Had his father been serious when he had suggested having another child? If he was, what would happen to him, the firstborn? Surely Goth would kill him. But what about Phoenix? Would she allow him to do something like that? Did she have any choice?

With black thoughts haunting him, the prince shut his eyes tight and fell into a fitful, troubled sleep.


	13. Separation

Griffin awoke to darkness, his vision swimming and his limbs tingling. He tried to pick himself up, but whatever surface he was lying on was slippery, and it kept jolting back and forth. Singing out a panicked note, he tried to figure out where he was. When his echoes came back to him, a silvery image of a small box with bars across its opening was painted in his mind. He was in a cage. Looking up, he saw a Human in a white suit carrying it.

"Chinook!" he cried. "Grandpa! Anybody!" He received no response except for the heavy steps of the Human who was carrying him. "Dad, what's going to happen now?" he asked worriedly.

_It's okay, they're just going to put a disc on your belly, Griffin,_ Shade told him, and he was amazed that his father could be talking about this so calmly. _Just hold still and it will all be over in less than a minute. Take deep breaths and try to stay calm._

Griffin gulped and shut his eyes tight, trying to steady his breathing. How could he have possibly been looking forward to this moment? Now, he wanted nothing more than to be back in the fake forest with Arcadia's crazed ranting and the disgusting little beetles that all tasted the same. Where were the others? Were they taken as well?

The Human who was carrying him suddenly called out in its slow, deep voice. He felt its stride slow, and then he saw another Human come up beside them. In its hands was another cage.

"Is anyone there?" a voice yelled from within it.

Griffin pressed himself against the slits in the side of the cage, trying to see who it was. "Yeah! It's me, Griffin!"

"Griffin?" The young Silverwing saw something move against the slits, pressing its face to them. He caught a glimpse of bright fur and realized, with a dull feeling, that it was not a Silverwing.

"Yes, Griffin!" he called anyway. "Who are you?"

There was a moment of silence before the other answered. "My name's Arion! What's happening?"

Griffin was unsure of how to answer. He opened his mouth to tell the other bat that he didn't know when the Human who was carrying him stopped and tapped at a door, then pulled it open.

The Silverwing would never forget the hideous sound that poured through that doorway. Screaming, sobs, pleas, shouts of pain all mingling together in a terrible cacophony that made the fur on his neck stand straight up.

The Human sat the cage holding him down on a small, metal platform, then disappeared through the door that it had come. Griffin watched in horror as Arion's cage was placed on a similar platform right next to his, and pulled, screaming, out of the tiny box. He cringed as the frightened bat's eyes met his, as he began screeching at him:

"Help me, Griffin! HELP!"

Griffin didn't know what Arion expected him to do, and simply stared in mute terror as the Female holding the struggling bat moved toward a long, metal trough and placed him inside it, out of Griffin's line of sight. After she was finished with Arion, the Female turned and began walking toward Griffin's cage. The Silverwing's heart pounded against his ribcage, and he couldn't stop himself quailing against the back wall as he saw the barred door swing open. A gloved hand snaked into the cage, and Griffin began squirming around, trying to avoid the clutching fingers.

_Griffin, it's okay! They aren't going to hurt you,_ Shade said.

Griffin, ignoring his father, was about to try and fly out of the cage when the Human's fingers snatched him up. He struggled in its grip, but the Human's fingers remained tightly wrapped around him, and before he knew it, he was dropped into the metal trough.

A pair of hands was suddenly thrust through the openings in the small space, taking hold of him and flipping him onto his back. Pinned, Griffin whipped his head around, trying to see what was happening, but another pair of gloved hands had reached inside the trough. With a cry of panic, he realized that one of the hands held something sharp. He shut his eyes as the metal touched him, thinking that this was it. The Human had cut him open and he was dying.

There was a strange whirring sound, and, feeling the trough move, Griffin opened his eyes. He looked down, expecting to see his guts spilling out, but instead saw that the blade had neatly sliced a patch of fur off his belly. Two more pairs of Human hands appeared, one wielding a long, metal dart. Griffin tried to scramble away from the dart, but the other Human grabbed him and forced him onto his back again with a single deft movement. The dart pricked the bare, pink patch of flesh, the drew back. Griffin watched in relief as the Human with the long dart and his companion disappeared when the trough moved again.

He looked down at where the dart had nicked his skin, and gingerly touched it with a claw. What's going on? he thought. He poked it a little harder, beginning to worry about the numb spot on his belly. Why can't I feel anything?

More hands. Two of them pinned his wings, but the other pair was busy fiddling with something. What was that? Griffin craned his neck upward to see what the Human was holding, but immediately wished that he hadn't. It was another needle, and the Human was struggling with some sort of string that was threaded through it. The string had caught in a crevice of the trough somehow, but it didn't remain there for long. With a sharp tug, the string was freed and the needle came glinting sharply toward him.

_Just close your eyes, Griffin,_ Shade said to him. _Don't watch. It's almost over._

Griffin obeyed and snapped his eyes shut again, clenching his teeth. He felt something cold touch the shaved patch on his stomach, but no searing pain came; just the dull sensation of his stomach being prodded with something over and over. When the sensation was over, he opened one eye and watched something sharp cut the string.

They had attached a small metal loop to his belly. It was ugly. He glared at it, then up at them. Their cold, emotionless faces vanished from view as the trough suddenly whirred again. This time the hands hooked a short length of chain through the loop in his belly, and on the end of it, was a small disc. He stared at the disc warily, knowing from what his father told him what it was capable of.

_It won't explode, Griffin,_ Shade assured him. _The Humans activate them somehow later on._

Griffin's ears perked up as he heard a bat ahead of them yell. The trough moved, stopping front of two more Humans, a Male and a Female. The Male reached into the little compartment and pushed Griffin onto his back again, but quickly had to let go of him. Griffin had seen the Female take hold of a pair of sharp, metal pincers, and was now throwing himself crazily into the walls, trying to escape.

"No!" he cried. "No, no, no, no, NO!" Something touched his wing, and a numbing jolt spread throughout his body. He wilted to the floor of the trough, watching as a metal stick was pulled back through one of the portals and was replaced by the Human's hands. They took hold of him again, lifting his head up a little. Griffin's heart skipped a beat as the pincers appeared again and closed around one of his ears. He yowled with pain as it pierced his flesh, but then the hands disappeared, and he lay gasping in relief, his ear throbbing. They had left something in his ear, but he was beyond caring at this point.

Struggling upright, he tried to see what was coming next by leaning against one of the walls of the container and pressing his face against the glass above, but he saw nothing. Frowning, he was about to go to another wall and do the same when, without warning, the trough tilted almost vertically. He cried out and tried to sink his claws into the floor, but the surface was too slippery, and he fell.

Griffin hit the floor hard, and when he was able to push himself up, he saw other bats watching him from the darkness, the same metal discs sewn to their bellies and studs embedded in their ears. With a sudden rush of hope, he looked through all of their faces, searching for a familiar one. His face fell when he realized that he was the only Silverwing there. Dejectedly, he began crawling toward one of the dark corners.

"Aaahh!"

Griffin looked up to see a tangle of wings and fur come flying out of the opening in the side of the box, but too late. The bat landed on him, knocking the breath from his lungs as he was slammed against the floor.

"Griffin!"

The young Silverwing wheezed as he lifted his head to see who it was, then a grin split his features.

"I'm real sorry, Griffin. I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay?"

Griffin waved away Chinook's apologies with a wing. "I'm great. Let's just get out from under that opening before someone else falls out." The pair moved over to a vacant wall and leaned against it, both completely exhausted.

"I forgot how heavy these things are," Chinook murmured, touching his disc with a claw.

Griffin had almost forgotten that Chinook had been through this before. He certainly didn't seem very afraid. Maybe a little bit nervous, but not afraid.

"Did you see the others-" he began, but he had to swallow before finishing, his throat dry. "-in there?" He nodded a little toward the opening.

Chinook shook his head. "Nope. They put us to sleep in the forest, and when I woke up I was in there," he said, indicating the opening again.

"Oh, all right." Griffin couldn't help wincing as the older bat began tapping the disc absently as he waited for the others to appear.

Suddenly, the container jerked. A panel abruptly slid down over the opening, and the entire container was enveloped by total blackness. Voices began calling out in panic, and they slid around as the box was hefted upward and began bouncing slightly. Heavy footsteps suggested that they were being carried by a Human.

As the frightened bats began running into each other and screaming as they searched frantically for a way out, Griffin and Chinook simply stared at one another in shocked silence. What had happened to the others?


	14. Alone

_Author's Note: Okay, I would just like to say that I completely forgot about this site. I did not give up on this story, I was simply submitting the chapters on a different site. Check out if you want to see some Silverwing art and other cool stuff. Note me if you want my username._

A little over a week had passed since the battle with his father, and Vulcan's wound had healed astonishingly fast. The royal surgeons had proven once again that they were not only masters of masonry, but of potions as well. The powerful mixtures that the surgeons had spread on the prince's shoulder had enabled him to fly again, but they had failed to disguise the cruel, jagged scar that marred his flesh. Against Vulcan's dark coat, the pale, damaged skin stood out greatly, and the fur showed no sign of growing back.

Resting on a ledge near the bottom of the pyramid, Vulcan stared blankly off into the thick trees that were less than a hundred wingbeats away. Saturn was there as well, relating another mythical tale to the young prince and completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't listening. The pair had begun meeting on the ledge instead of at the tree due to Vulcan's injury; the prince could fly for a short while, but his shoulder would gradually begin to throb and ache, and then it was not long before he was panting and straining to stay in the air. There was no way that he could make it to the tree anymore.

Vulcan's eyes glittered with envy as he watched two bats shoot out of the trees and into the clearing, racing against each other. He had been the strongest and fastest of them all, but now he doubted that he would even be able to hunt without stopping to rest two or three times.

The prince had been so absorbed that he hadn't noticed that Saturn had stopped speaking, and the runt looked at his friend morosely. It pained him to see Vulcan behaving so differently from his confidant, daring self, and he had found that the prince's constant joyless mood seemed to bleed into his surroundings, and sometimes he wanted nothing more than to escape the melancholy atmosphere.

"Vulcan," he blurted, unable to remain silent any longer, "I'm sure that you'll be just like your old self in a couple more weeks. I mean, it's healed, but you haven't really rested properly. Just give it some more time."

The prince continued to stare off into the jungle, his face impassive. "Resting won't do anything. In two more weeks, I'll be the same, just as I will be until the day I die." His face suddenly contorted, twisting into a hideous mask of rage. _"Crippled!"_ he spat contemptuously.

Saturn moved back a little, wary of his friend's dangerous temper. "You can still fly faster than I'll ever be able to," he said. "And you're still stronger-"

"Oh, well isn't that a relief!" Vulcan yelled, whirling on the unfortunate bat. "I'm not as slow and weak as the runt of the colony! Thank you, Saturn. I appreciate your words. I'll take them into consideration next time I collapse from exhaustion within the first ten minutes of flight!"

This was not the first time that Saturn had been ridiculed for being the only runt of the Vampyrum colony, but the unkind words had a different sting when they came from Vulcan. Never had the prince mocked him or become impatient with his slow pace, and it hurt him deeply that he had done it just now.

The little bat's response was just as sorrowful as his face as he replied, "I was just trying to help-"

Vulcan suddenly let out a frightening hiss, flaring his wings in a show of anger. Saturn fell backward with a startled cry, scampering away a short distance.

"I don't want your help," he sneered. "I'm sick of you! You've been saying that you know what it's like to be weak, but this is different. You weren't maimed by your own father, you were born as a _runt_," Saturn winced as he heard that hurtful word again, but the raging prince took no notice. "You've always been weak. Well, I haven't! I was faster and stronger than any of the others, and you know it! I am the prince of the Vampyrum Spectrum, first heir to the throne. I am not supposed to be like you. I am _not_ supposed to be _weak_!"

Saturn picked himself up and moved over to the fuming prince until their chests were literally touching. Drawing himself up to his full height and staring straight up into Vulcan's blazing eyes, the little bat said flatly, "You're right, Vulcan. I guess I don't understand, and I'm sorry to have failed you. I can't say that I didn't do my best, though. Oh, well. I suppose not much is expected of a runt, anyway." Spreading his wings, he flew off into the clearing in the direction of the jungle, leaving Vulcan alone on the ledge.

The Vampyrum watched as he disappeared into the trees, his face still dark. After a few moments of silence, though, his head began to clear, and he realized too late what he had done. Lowering his wings and letting his lips slide back down over his fangs, he looked over at the loose chunk of stone that Saturn had seated himself on earlier when he had begun his story, then back toward the jungle. What he had just done could never be righted, and the sudden thought made his spirit drop lower than ever.

Later that night, Vulcan roosted alone in the Royal Chamber, the warmth of the night forgotten as the cold wings of guilt and loss wrapped themselves tightly around him. He had yet to feed, but he was not hungry. The memory of Saturn's last words to him before he left kept echoing in his mind:

_'...I'm sorry to have failed you. I can't say that I didn't do my best, though. Oh, well. I suppose not much is expected of a runt, anyway.'_ Vulcan wanted to carve his own tongue out for calling him that. Because of his blind fury, he had just lost the only true friend that he had ever had, and probably ever would.

The prince's eyes were dry as he looked off into the jungle, but inside, he was weeping bitterly.

* * *

Goth watched as Phoenix roosted in a nearby tree and began grooming herself, unaware that he was less than fifteen wingbeats from her. He wanted to talk to her, but every time she saw him the female bolted off in the opposite direction, and despite Goth's efforts, the pair hadn't spoken since the night of their son's injury.

The king had been thinking about what he had said to Phoenix that night, about bearing the shame of a crippled son. Did he really want that? There had never been a cripple in the royal family, and having one now seemed disgraceful. Goth knew that he could easily kill Vulcan if he wanted to, and, being king, no one would be able to stop him, nor would they question him. They would understand his decision and respect it; all except Phoenix, of course. Being the mother, she would need much persuading, but Goth thought that eventually she would accept that her ignoble son would bring nothing but shame to the royal family, and would gladly give him another child. Even if she didn't, though, it wasn't as if she could prevent him from killing Vulcan.


	15. Blizzard

Luna beat her wings hard, struggling to control her flight as the wind screamed in her ears and stung her face. The snowfall was so thick that she was having trouble seeing the bat in front of her, and Luna would often lose sight of her and the concept of what was straight. The only thing that told her she wasn't on a straight path was when her wings clipped Marina's or Roma's. Ariel had pulled ahead earlier to speak with the other elders, though they weren't sure how she would be able to find them or how they would be able to hear each other in the howling gale.

The pains in Luna's belly had continued to stab at her, but she ground her teeth and said nothing to anyone about them. At one point, the pain had become so great that her wings buckled, but she caught herself before she began to fall. Luckily, neither Roma nor Marina had been able to see her very well through the snow. Not long now.

Two females had already been revealed to be cursed with premature children, and they flew in morose silence, their newborns having been taken by the cold shortly after birth. No one spoke to them, or even tried to comfort them, for what can console a mother who has lost her child?

"Are you okay?" Marina yelled at Luna, her voice almost completely drowned out by the wind.

"Yeah!" she called back to her. "I'm fine-" Luna's response was cut short as a sharp twinge in her stomach made her gasp. Her wings buckled, and she just barely was able to catch herself, but not before falling a few inches.

"Luna?" Roma was shouting. "Luna!"

There didn't seem to be enough air anymore, and it was as if her body had become ten times heavier. Luna pumped her wings as hard as she could, but she continued to lose altitude. Another twinge, worse this time, and she fell further. Not now, Luna thought. Please, not now!

"Hold on!" she heard Marina cry. A few seconds later, she felt something beneath her.

"It's okay, Luna! Just fall!"

The young Silverwing wanted nothing more than to do just that. Just as she was about to lock her wings and land on Marina's back, a fiery pain exploded within her, and she dropped through the air like a rock, her body seeming to be completely paralyzed. Hitting Marina's right wing and knocking her off balance, Luna tumbled past her and down toward the ground. She could hear the Brightwing and her mother screaming something, but the wind was too fierce to understand it. The world was whirling crazily as the snow rushed to meet her, and she knew that within seconds, her life, and her unborn child's, would be over. Luna shut her eyes and hoped that the fall would kill her, that she wouldn't have to lie in the freezing snow and wait until her broken body gave up...

But the ground never came. She hit something, but it was soft. Opening her eyes, she saw a thick coating of feathers, and she wasn't sure if she should be overjoyed or terrified. She glanced about her, taking in the size of the bird, and she froze abruptly. She was riding on the back of an owl.

"Are you alright? You fell pretty far," a deep voice rumbled, and it took Luna a moment to realize to respond.

"Yes," she replied meekly, partially because of the pains that still racked her body, and also because she was frightened out of her wits. Why was he helping her?

"What?" the bird yelled, unable to hear her quiet voice through the blizzard.

Luna summoned up the courage to crawl forward until she was close to the bird's head. "Yes!" she shouted.

"Okay," he said. Luna sunk her claws into the feathers in an attempt to hold on as the mighty bird picked up speed. She ducked down low, seeking cover from the blinding snow behind the horned head. Another twinge hit her, and her claws slipped from the feathers for a moment.

"There's your colony! Can you fly now?" the owl shouted to her.

"I don't think so!" she gasped, the pain throbbing relentlessly.

"Alright, we'll manage. Does Marina Brightwing still live with this colony?" he asked.

Luna was more than confused now. First, the owl had saved her life, and now he was asking if Marina lived with them. "Yeah," she yelled despite the pain. "How do you know her?"

"Tell you later," he said. Luna felt his body swell as he took in a huge breath. "MARINA!"

The Silverwing colony was now close enough to see, and the bats that turned and were able to see the owl howled with terror and beat their wings faster. As the owl continued to roar the Brightwing's name, Luna was able to see a shape moving throughout the milling bats that were attempting to escape her and her savior.

"Orestes?" a voice cried, thinned by the shrieking wind. "Is that you?!"

Luna felt a wave of relief wash over her as the bright shape began hurtling toward them through the snow.

"Marina!" the owl whooped delightedly as the Brightwing pulled alongside him. "It's good to see you again! I think I have something that belongs to your colony."

"Luna!" Marina sobbed when she saw the Silverwing atop the owl. "We thought we'd lost you!"

Orestes tilted to allow Marina to land on his back and nuzzle her. "Are you hurt?" the female asked, checking her over with motherly concern.

"It's time," she muttered, leaning against Marina. "I wish it wasn't, but it's time."

The Brightwing's eyes widened, then she leaned down close to Orestes' head. "We need to land!"

"My hollow isn't far from here! Can she make it?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Marina said.

"Where's my mom?" Luna panted breathlessly, her belly on fire.

Marina hugged her close. "I don't know, Luna. I thought she followed me."

Luna opened her mouth to ask her if they could go find her when the pain stabbed her again, and the only sound she made was a sharp gasp.

"Stay strong," Marina said to her, squeezing her tight. "Stay strong, we're almost there."

Orestes' body jolted suddenly as he landed hard on a branch, and the two bats almost tumbled off his back. "In there," he said, ushering them toward the hollow trunk.

Luna was able to drag herself halfway inside, but couldn't move any further; Marina had to push her the rest of the way, but they eventually made it to the back of the snug hollow. There, the Silverwing lay on her back, her eyes wide as saucers, breathless and shaking with pain.

The owl shuffled awkwardly in the entrance as Marina turned back to look at him. "Um, you can stay here as long as you need to. There's another hollow close by that I can stay in."

"Thank you so much, Orestes," Marina said gratefully. "Come back tomorrow night, though. I'm curious about what your colony has made of this early winter."

He bobbed his great head in an almost comical manner. "Okay. If you, er, need me, just shout." Taking to the air with a beat of his enormous wings, he vanished into the snow.

The Brightwing hurried over to Luna's side and began speaking softly to her as she tried to calm her. "You'll do fine, Luna, I promise. I'm going to help you through this. You'll be fine."

"I want... Mom," Luna wheezed. "I want her here with me, too."

"I know, Luna. I know," Marina hushed her gently.

Moments later, the hollow was filled with the Silverwing's anguished screams.


	16. Abandoned

Griffin stared blankly into the blackness of the container from the corner that he and Chinook were huddled in. The older bat had long since, to the shock of many of the others, gone to sleep. Griffin was leaning against his burly body, feeling his chest swell as he breathed in and out. Knowing that he still had him dulled the pain of Cassiel's and the others' absences.

Reaching up with a claw, the Silverwing batted irritably at the metal stud in his ear. It was heavy, and when he finally began to fall asleep, his head would tilt until it hit the wall of the container, waking him up. Surprisingly, the steady hum and vibration that the Human flying machine made when it was in the air was quite soothing, and Griffin's head had collided with the wall on more than one occasion.

The Silverwing was nodding off again when he began to feel something warm ooze down his shoulder. He sat up and looked at the liquid, then at Chinook, who was leaning against the wall with his head back and his mouth wide open. A string of drool hung from his gaping mouth to the puddle on Griffin's shoulder, and the young bat wiped it off in disgust.

"How much longer till we get there, Dad?" he asked, wiping the drool on the container floor.

Silence.

"Dad? Hello?" he said, panic beginning to well up inside him.

Still nothing.

"Who are you talking to?" one of the other bats asked.

Griffin ignored him and began shaking Chinook into wakefulness. "Chinook, something's wrong!"

"Let go, it's my moth," he grumbled, still half asleep as he tried to push him off. "I caught it and I'm not sharing."

"Chinook, wake up!" Griffin yelled.

The other bat jumped and looked at him, blinking owlishly. "What it is?"

"It's my dad, I can't hear him anymore!"

Chinook was silent for a moment, then he said, "When was the last time you spoke with him?"

Griffin bit his lip as he tried to remember. "Um, I think it was a little bit after we started flying. He hasn't said anything since."

Chinook was silent for a moment. "He wouldn't have abandoned us," he said finally. "I know him. There must be something wrong."

The pair flared their wings to keep balance as the container jolted suddenly, then began tilting slowly upward.

"This is it, Griffin!" Chinook said. "Get ready!"

Griffin's breathing quickened as the container slid even further upward, and he found himself trying to sink his claws into the slippery surface, only to slide down anyway. He was smacked by flailing wings and limbs as other bats ran into him and fell on top of him, all screaming and crying for mercy.

Then there was a loud click as something unlocked, and the whole top of the container flew open. The voices were drowned out as a deafening wind enveloped them, and Griffin and Chinook were plucked from the container and hurled into the air.

Griffin struggled to see where he was, where Chinook was. He caught quick flashes of things: the Human flying machine, terror-stricken faces, gigantic doors, and beyond them, the night. A powerful force seemed to snatch him and yank him toward the open doors, and he didn't even have the time to spread his wings before he was thrown past them.

The young Silverwing gasped as the cold hit him, and suddenly he couldn't breathe. The world was spiraling and flipping wildly, and he couldn't tell which way was up or down. Things were going by too fast, and he kept his wings furled against him, having no idea which way he would try to fly if he opened them. Then he saw something rushing toward him, something white.

_Whumph._ He couldn't see anything for a moment, then the whiteness vanished and he was falling through the night sky again. It took a second for him to realize that he had just fallen through a cloud bank, and that he was soaking wet. The cold air turned the water in his fur to frost, but he didn't have the time to worry about it, because he hit another bank seconds later.

_Whumph._

Griffin began to worry about how far away he was from the ground, and quickly opened his wings. The impact of the air catching beneath them snapped them upward and jarred his bones, but it slowed him down greatly. He could see something glittering below them through the clouds, and he looked up at what he had thought were the stars in confusion. What was that down there?

The metal stud in his ear began singing him a map of something. A building? The image was terribly vague, and all that he could decipher from it was that it was big and square.

Go to the building, it said. Go.

Shade had already told him about this part, but to his horror, he found himself angling his wings toward the building. No, he thought. I won't listen.

He saw the next cloud bank coming and closed his eyes, holding his breath until he passed through it. He was drenched again, but he had fallen through the last bank. An intense heat suddenly enveloped him, and he realized where they must be.

The jungle.

Go to the building, the metal stud told him, flaring the picture of the crude building in his mind again. Go.

"Griffin! Griffin, over here!"

Griffin looked over to see a large Silverwing tilt his wings toward him. "Chinook!" he cried happily. The other bat had almost reached him when something huge shot down between them, and Griffin was thrown to the side by its force.

"What was that?" Chinook asked when he had recovered from his shock.

"Vampyrum," Griffin said with a sick feeling already settling in his belly. His disc was heavy, and he wanted to land as quickly as possible.

Go to the building.

His wings angled involuntarily, and he was scarcely aware of Chinook shouting at him as the city raced ever closer. He was so tired, and all he wanted to do was rest. He could now see the other bats all around him, all headed toward that building. If they were doing it, why couldn't he?

Something bit him on the tail, and he kicked out with his hind legs, knocking whoever it was away. Go to the building, he thought. That's all you have to do, and then you can rest. The disc seemed ten times heavier now, and its weight made the image of the building all the more appealing. His left wing was struck by something, and he looked over to see what it was.

"Griffin, don't listen to it!" Chinook roared. "Can you not see the flames down there? Don't listen to it!"

But he was so tired, and the metal stud kept pushing that picture into his mind. The building was close now, and the Silverwing had already picked out a spot to land on. Turning away from Chinook, he began pumping his wings hard, intent on reaching the building.

Chinook yelled something then, but Griffin didn't turn around to look at him. What was his problem? Why didn't he just land like all the others?

"GRIFFIN!"

The Silverwing turned then, but all he saw was a pair of jagged wings and a sharp set of long claws, then a crushing weight slammed into him, and the world exploded into nothingness.


	17. Istra

Vulcan rested on a thick branch near the bottom of an ancient, towering tree, his shoulder throbbing. He had flown a long way to reach this place, his secret glade, but it had been worth it; the beauty of it all was as breathtaking as it had been when he first found it. The moon worked her magic and turned everything a radiant silver, from the petals and leaves of the flowers that surrounded the shimmering pond, to the wings of the dragonflies that danced upon the little body of water itself. The tiny, pale flowers that dangled in bunches from the trees like grapes filled the air with their sweet scent, and it was by following this alluring aroma that Vulcan had happened upon this place.

He had caught the scent while exploring, as he often did now that he no longer had lessons with his father and had stopped meeting with Saturn. The runt had come and found him while hunting, wanting to speak with him, but Vulcan had frightened him off with a hiss and a threat. He didn't want to talk, all he wanted was to be left alone.

Lying on his belly, he watched a tiny fish swim around in a circle directly beneath the frolicking dragonflies on the pond's surface, it's scales glittering in the moonlight. The fish waited until one of the dragonflies landed on the surface, circling and circling, then leapt clear of the water, mouth open. Their was a loud buzzing noise as the fish clamped its mouth over one of the dragonfly's wings and attempted to pull it under the water, but the insect somehow jerked itself free and flew upward in a crazy spiral.

Vulcan blinked at the dragonfly as it darted upward and landed on one of the twigs that jutted from his branch. One of its wings were missing, and it buzzed the remaining ones in agitation. The Vampyrum reached out slowly until his wingtip was touching the twig, then he waited patiently for the insect to crawl onto it. Pulling his wing back in the same unhurried manner, so as not to frighten the dragonfly, he rested it on the branch in front of him, and the insect crawled off onto the bark.

"Luck just wasn't on your side, was it, my little friend?" he said, watching the insect groom itself with its legs. Without warning, he suddenly brought his wing down hard and smashed the tiny creature, his face impassive as he said, "Me neither." The prince glanced down at his shoulder, eyeing the ugly scars that his father's fangs had left. He wished that the surgeons had had something to cover them up.

A sudden rage overcame him, and Vulcan sunk his claws into the bark, creating deep gouges in the wood as he pulled them back toward him. He wished that the branch was his Goth's face, that the deep gashes he was making were going to leave scars on his flesh and that the surgeons wouldn't be able to heal them. When he ripped his claws free, a small piece of bark came loose. Vulcan swatted it off the branch bad-temperedly and watched it plop into the pond, breaking the smooth surface and causing the fish to swim a few panicked laps. Then a sudden thought came to him and his fury melted:

What did fish taste like?

He was still hungry; the macaw fledgling that he had been able to capture with his slow, almost clumsy flight had been nowhere near enough to sustain him for the night. At least the fish wouldn't be able to fly away from him.

Dropping down from his branch, Vulcan slowed his fall by unfurling his wings, and he landed on the soft grass next to the pond with a dull thud. Leaning over, he watched the fish swim another lap around the pond before settling on the bottom in the very center. Even though the pond wasn't that large, it would be difficult to catch the fish if it stayed in the middle. Of course, he could always get in the water, but he wasn't too eager to get wet.

Vulcan spread his wings and kicked off the ground with a grunt, wincing when his shoulder protested at the action. He flew up to one of the trees and snapped off a long twig with his rear claws, then dove back down toward the pond. Leaning across the water again, he wrapped his thumbclaw around the stick and began poking at the fish, trying to force it toward the edge of the pond. After getting it fairly close to the edge, he waited for it to settle to the bottom again, but it didn't. It continued to float in that one spot, churning the water with its little fins and looking at him with its huge, googly eyes.

The prince frowned. Taking hold of his stick again, he began trying to flip it out of the water and onto the bank; no success. With a growl of impatience, he threw the stick down and snatched up a rock in his rear claws. Taking to the air again, he hovered over the pond and dropped the rock in the water, hoping to hit the fish. Dodging the projectile, the tiny animal flitted over to the other side of the pond with a thrash of its tail.

Vulcan tried this several more times, but just as he was about to drop the last rock that he could find, a sudden pain pierced his scarred shoulder, forcing him to let go of the rock and land back on the bank. He lost his temper then, and, knocking the rock that he had dropped out of his way, he sprang at the fish.

There was a loud splash as the Vampyrum threw himself into the water with a snarl, ducking his head under the surface and snapping at the little creature. The fish darted around his jaws and evaded his slashing claws over and over, and eventually Vulcan had to resurface to take another breath. He could just barely touch the bottom, and through the crystal-clear water he could see the gilled animal swimming around his legs and waist.

It was taunting him.

Sucking in another breath, Vulcan plunged back into the water and resumed his chase. Once again, the tiny fish proved too fast for him, and the prince's aggravation doubled. After many attempts to catch the creature, he hauled his sopping body out of the pond and shook himself off.

"Stupid fish," he muttered darkly, glowering at it. A sudden giggle made his ears prick up and his crest bristle, and, flexing his claws and hunching his shoulders, he sprayed sound about him. "Who's there?" he demanded when his echo vision had failed to reveal anything. A burst of laughter made his scowl deepen.

"Show yourself!" he roared.

"Okay, okay," said a voice, and Vulcan looked up to see a female Vampyrum lean out of an enormous cluster of flowers in one of the trees. From what the prince could tell, she wan't a large creature, but actually fairly petite for their species. She had a grin on her face, which she abruptly covered with a wing when she saw his ferocious expression, but a strangled titter still managed to escape.

"What are you doing up there?" he growled. "Spying on me?"

The female shook her head, dropping her wing to reveal a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy on you. I was just passing by when I heard you splashing around, and I had to come see what was making all the noise."

Vulcan snorted irately. "Well, you found out, now go on."

The other bat's smile vanished. "A bit touchy, aren't we?"

The prince turned his back on her and spread his wings to fly back to his tree, but they hadn't dried enough yet to be of any use. With a growl, he slumped back onto the grass, hoping that if he kept his back to the female, she would leave.

He started when she landed directly in front of him. "My name's Istra. What's your's?"

Vulcan blinked at her, surprised that she didn't know who he was already. "Um, Vulcan. _Prince_ Vulcan."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea! But I have to say that I've never actually seen you before, Your Highness," she admitted. "You're quite the recluse. Is this where you've been spending all your time?"

"Recently, yes," he said. Vulcan saw her gaze drift to his scarred shoulder, and he knew what she was thinking. "I have to stop a few times, but I always make it." He could tell that she wanted to ask him more, but she didn't.

"I can see why you like it here," she said, looking around and smiling again. "It's beautiful."

Vulcan shrugged. "It's quiet, and I usually don't have bats bothering me." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye after he said this and she laughed again.

"Well, I'm sorry to have interrupted your fishing," she said with a grin. "Your methods are rather unique, if I may say so myself."

The prince's face began to burn. "Um, I've never caught a fish before."

Istra must have noticed that his ears were a shade darker, because she covered her mouth to stifle another fit of laughter. "Well, that's okay. That one's way too little for a big bat like you, anyway," she said, and Vulcan felt a glimmer of pride return for a brief moment. A mischievous look glinted in her eyes as she added suddenly, "Though I think I could have done better."

Vulcan narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really," she replied, leaning close to him. "I bet I can catch it."

The prince cocked his head to one side and looked down at her. "I bet you can't." So far as he could see, if he couldn't catch the fish, then why should she be able to?

Istra turned back to the pond and crouched next the edge, pulling a long blade of grass out of the ground and dipping the stem just below the surface. She wiggled it around a little, and, to Vulcan's amazement, the fish began swimming toward it. The prince muttered something under his breath as she pulled the fish out of the water, its mouth closed over the end of the stem.

"Pure luck," he said when she turned to him with a triumphant grin.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure it was. Still want to try it?"

Vulcan's stomach growled loudly, forcing a laugh out of the female. "Yeah," he said, a smile creeping onto his own features as she pulled the stem out of the fish's mouth and tossed it away. Taking the tail in her teeth, she held the fish out to him. The prince leaned forward and accepted half of it, and Istra giggled a little when their whiskers touched. Vulcan chewed vigorously at first, his hunger gnawing at him, but gradually his jaws slowed to stop.

"Do you like it?" Istra asked.

The male swallowed with some difficulty, then coughed a little.

The other bat swallowed her share and nodded. "It's the scales," she said, coughing a little as well, but trying to smile.

"It wasn't worth jumping into the pond for, I'll say that much," Vulcan said before taking a good, long drink to wash the scales out of his mouth, as well as the taste.

Istra smiled as she watched him. "So," she said casually, "do you have a mate?"

Vulcan choked on the mouthful he was about to swallow and coughed it back up. He winced and looked up at her. "What?"

The female kept smiling at him as she repeated herself, "Do you have a mate? I mean, I know that mating season is a fairly long way off, I'm just curious if you're taken or not."

"No," he said, staring at his reflection and watching his ears becoming darker again.

"Oh, all right," she said, quite cheerfully, Vulcan noted. "Are you going back the pyramid soon?"

"Yeah."

"Do want to go together?"

The prince stared at his watery twin, his eyes locked on his shoulder. "I don't think you want to."

Istra moved over to him. "Why not?"

"I'm not exactly as fast as I used to be," he muttered.

A soft, "Oh," escaped her lips as she realized what he meant. "It's fine," she said. "You set the pace, I'll follow."

Vulcan looked up at her, just then realizing how stunning she looked when the moonlight hit her. Her eyes glittered at him as she smiled, and he found himself smiling back a little. "Okay," he said.


	18. Jungle

Phoenix watched from the top of a tall tree as the soldiers returned from the city. She could hear the little bats screaming and see them writhing futilely in their rear claws, their discs dangling beneath them. Her eyes remained locked on the explosives; she had seen what they were capable of. Only a few nights ago, one of the little bats had bitten the soldier carrying him, causing the Vampyrum to drop him. The fool hadn't flown once he was released, but instead had dropped to the ground and caused a fair-sized explosion that devoured a large area of vegetation. No one had been killed, except the Northern bat, of course, but that was one less creature to slave for the glory of Zotz, and Phoenix had been extremely displeased; she had ordered the soldier to take the place of his dead captive down in the mine.

The queen squinted as she saw a shape fly out of the top of the jungle canopy a distance away. Another followed it out of the trees, and they both began flying toward her. As they got closer, Phoenix noticed that the bigger of the two flew with a slight limp, and she smiled. Vulcan. But who was that other one flying alongside him? Phoenix peered closely at the bat. It was much smaller in stature than her son, more so than most were compared to him.

"Hey, Mom," Vulcan panted, landing a bit clumsily on the branch that Phoenix was roosting on, making it shake under his weight.

Phoenix greeted him, then turned to look at the other bat that was hovering nearby, respectfully waiting to be acknowledged before speaking or roosting. The queen was surprised to see that the Vampyrum Vulcan had flown here with was a female. Out of instinct, she quickly scrutinized her from her ear tips to her tail, estimating her age and how strong she was by how quickly she had to beat her wings to stay aloft. The female was rather petite, but not so much to be called a runt, and Phoenix was relatively pleased. Her head remained bowed as she churned the air in silence, showing every sign of respect toward her queen, and Phoenix smiled.

"You may roost," she said, and the female landed lightly next to Vulcan. "What is your name?"

"Istra, My Lady."

Phoenix glanced at Vulcan, her eyes glittering mischievously. "Vulcan, I'm hurt! How long were you planning on hiding your little secret from me?"

Vulcan was completely caught of guard by the question. His ears became a shade darker as he stammered, "I wasn't hiding anything, we just met!"

Phoenix rolled her eyes and gestured for Istra to come closer, and the young female obeyed. "How long have you two known each other?" she said softly, a grin splitting her features.

"What is she saying to you?" Vulcan asked suspiciously, perking his ears up as he tried to catch what they were saying.

Istra glanced over her shoulder at him. "Nothing," she said, then turned back to Phoenix. "He's telling the truth, actually; we only met a few hours ago. I found him splashing around like a crazed monkey in the middle of a pond," she giggled.

Phoenix looked over Istra's head at the prince, who was now a good two feet closer than only a second ago. "What in Zotz' name were you doing in a pond?"

Vulcan's brow darkened. He began scratching a pattern into the bark. "Nothing," he said flatly.

"Fishing," Istra laughed, and Vulcan's frown became a scowl.

Phoenix began laughing, too, as Istra related the whole tale to her in hushed tones, all the while Vulcan's face becoming stormier. The young male couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell that they were talking about him from the glances that they kept throwing his way. They had only just met, yet the pair was gossiping as if they had known each other all their lives. He sighed in annoyance and glared at a caterpillar making its way, slowly but surely, up the trunk, scrunching up its fat little body, then stretching itself out over and over.

"They do, don't they?" Vulcan overheard Phoenix saying, and he looked up to see both females grinning at him. His ears began to burn again, and the pair burst out laughing. The prince growled and pulled his wings over his head so that they couldn't see his ears turn another shade darker.

* * *

Griffin groaned, his head throbbing. He felt the strange, weightless sensation of flight, and over the pounding of the blood in his ears, he could hear wingbeats. He kept his eyes closed tightly, feeling as if he would vomit.

What had happened? He tried to think back, but all that came to memory was the feeling of complete exhaustion.

The Silverwing yelped as something sharp dug into his fur and one of his wings, piercing it. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself staring up at the underbelly of some enormous bat. Its wickedly long claws were clamped tightly around him, and Griffin could barely even twist his head around to see that he was not the only one that had been captured. He saw dozens more of the giants bats flying all around him, Vampyrum, as he could now see, all with smaller bats in their rear claws. Griffin began frantically searching the captives around him, looking for a Silverwing, when suddenly the Vampyrum carrying him angled his wings and dropped into a dive. Griffin turned his head to see where he was being taken, and caught sight of a huge stone building, its terraces cloaked in vines and creepers. The pyramid.

Any light that Griffin had been using to see by was abruptly cut off as they plunged inside of the entrance halfway down the pyramid, forcing him to use his echo vision. He felt the Vampyrum carrying him begin to slow, and, singing out sound, he realized that they were coming upon a tall stack of stones, not like the ones used to build the pyramid, and perched upon it was another Vampyrum.

The bat carrying him stopped in front of the stones, hovering close to the other cannibal. Griffin cried out in terror as she leaned forward and opened her jaws, revealing twin rows of sharp, strangely shaped teeth. He froze when he felt the fangs touch his belly, thinking that this was it. After this, he would end up back in the Underworld, but this time he would be dead. The absence of any pain after a few moments made him open his eyes again and look down to see how much of him she had already swallowed.

But she wasn't eating him. She was using her specially honed teeth to saw through the metal chain that connected his disc to him. Griffin felt a small tug at his belly, and he craned his head to see another Vampyrum beneath him, closing his claws around the disc so that it didn't fall. What was going on? Why were they taking his disc off? For a split second, Griffin had the small hope that these weren't bad Vampyrum at all, that they were actually trying to help him.

The chain finally gave way to the Vampyrum's fangs, and the disc was carried off. Griffin's hopes were dashed as the cannibal holding him brought him to another chamber in which he saw each Vampyrum hovering over a small group of others, allowing them to wind a strange, shimmering vine around the ankles of their charges. They were being shackled together.

There were still several more Vampyrum waiting in front of them, and Griffin could see that it would be a minute before it was his turn. His captor seemed to realize that also, for he dropped to the floor to rest, forcing the Silverwing's face into the ground and smothering him. Griffin, gasping for air, squirmed in the vice-like grip as the Vampyrum practically stood on top of him.

"You're crushing me!" he shouted up at the giant bat once he had been able to twist his head upward for air. The cannibal shifted his weight, and Griffin felt the pressure on his chest increase. The Silverwing could feel his heart banging against his ribcage as his head began throbbing again, and he tried to lean close and bit the Vampyrum's foot, hoping that he would let go of him, but he couldn't reach. Thankfully, the line moved up, and the cannibal took to the air for a moment, allowing Griffin a moment to catch his breath before landing hard on him again. The Silverwing was forced to endure another moment of the horrible weight before he was lifted into the air again and held over the group of Vampyrum with the vine.

Griffin stared in horrid fascination as they held the sparkling vine up to his rear claws, then let go of it. They didn't have to do anything else, because the vine was _moving._ It snaked around his ankles like a living thing, pulling itself tight. Griffin kicked, trying to shake it off, but it was no use; the vine continued to wrap around him until it had made a knot around both claws.

The Vampyrum carrying him dropped him suddenly, and Griffin hit the floor with an unceremonious bump. He struggled upright, only to be given a hard shove in the back that sent him sprawling again.

"Move it, you're holding up the line," one of the Vampyrum snarled at him.

Griffin looked around in confusion. Where was he supposed to go? There was an opening on the other side of the long chamber. Was he supposed to go there?

"Move!" he heard another cannibal roaring at him, and he scuttle forward until the vine around his ankles was pulled taught. This process was repeated several times until Griffin was bathed in the moonlight that poured through the opening that he had seen earlier. From there, he could see another line of bats, shackled together by vines like him, moving slowly toward a gargantuan crater not far from the pyramid. As he watched the bats shuffle along, a sudden thought came to him, and his situation seemed ten times worse.

He was at the front of the line.

"All right, that's all for this one!" one of the Vampyrum yelled, and Griffin jumped as another of the gigantic bats landed next to him. She nodded at the line outside.

"You're going to follow them down to the mine, got it?"

Griffin nodded dumbly. Mine? That didn't sound like any sort of place he wanted to go.

"Good. Remember, I'll be watching, so don't try to make a break for it. You have all these others shackled to you, too, so you haven't got a chance. Go on, now."

Griffin was shoved out the opening, and, with the knowledge that the Vampyrum was watching him closely, he began crawling down the barren path created by the passage of many creatures. As he neared the back of the other line, which was traveling much more slowly now that those in the front were inside the mine itself, Griffin could see the rim of the crater. He glanced upward, and saw that there were Vampyrum roosting in the trees all around the mine, making sure that no one tried to escape. Griffin's gaze found the tallest of the trees, and what he saw roosting in it made his blood freeze.

The monster that he had heard so many terrible stories about. His father's archenemy. His murderer.

Goth.

Staying close to the bat in front of him so that he could hide incase Goth happened to glance his way, he watched the him intently, hoping that they would reach the mine so that he could hopefully hide among the others. Griffin was keeping so close to the bat in front of him that he ran into him when the line suddenly stopped.

"Hey, watch it!" the bat said, turning to glower at him.

Griffin opened his mouth to apologize, but his voice caught in his throat.

The Vampyrum was staring right at him. More than ever, Griffin was now wishing that his parents had both been Silverwings, or both Brightwings. The crazy swaths of bright fur across his shoulders made him so easily recognizable and practically screamed for attention, and that was the last thing that he wanted right now.

Just as Griffin was sure that his heart would give out from terror, Goth looked away, spread his wings and flew off, away from the pyramid. Griffin let out a huge whoosh of air, and time suddenly seemed to start back up again. He hadn't been noticed, praise Nocturna. But for how long could he go on avoiding the Vampyrum king? Surely he would be subjected to some hideous death because of who his father was, and what he had done to him in the Underworld. The Silverwing was jerked back to reality as the female that had spoken to him back at the pyramid landed next to him.

"What are you doing? The other line's already all the way inside the mine. Move!"


	19. In the Mines

Luna lay with her back against Marina's chest, still panting slightly; it had been a difficult labor, but the Brightwing had been there for her the whole time, and for that, Luna was grateful. She looked down and smiled tiredly at the product of what had to be one of the most painful experiences of her entire life. Beneath her wing, nestled into her thick fur, was a pink, hairless pup. Its tiny voice, barely audible even to Luna's sensitive ears, was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, and every time she heard it pule her heart swelled with joy.

Marina had her wings wrapped around the young mother and her child, her head drooping so low that her chin was almost touching Luna's shoulder. Luna turned around so that she was facing her, snuggling into her bright fur. The Brightwing murmured something in her sleep and shifted a little bit, but did not wake. Luna shut her eyes, feeling the newborn move around on her belly for a moment before the suckling sounds of feeding began again. Tomorrow they would try to catch up with the colony again; hopefully they hadn't fallen too far behind.

Luna' stirred as a beam of light hit her face, Marina's voice and another deep one rumbling somewhere in the background.

"...they couldn't have."

"I'm sorry, Marina."

"When did the messenger come?" The Brightwing's voice sounded choked.

"He was following the female's scent when I stopped him, only a few minutes ago. He didn't stay long, as you can imagine."

Luna sat up and blinked at the two silhouettes at the entrance of the hollow. "What is it?" she asked. She couldn't see either of their expressions, and it wasn't until Marina came over to her that she began to panic. "What happened to Griffin?" she said, her eyes wide. "What happened to him?"

Luna could tell that Marina was trying to hold back her tears, but they came anyway. "He and a small group of males disappeared near the beginning of the journey," she told her softly. "There was talk of a Human building and going... South."

The Silverwing shook her head slowly. "No, I heard the stories. The cannibal bats are all gone. You were there, Marina! You saw what happened!"

Marina looked at he sadly. "Goth is alive again."

"What does that matter?" Luna shouted angrily, tears starting to well in her eyes. "Griffin wouldn't risk his life for revenge, he isn't like that! Besides, they said the pyramid was destroyed and that Zo-... that _monster_ couldn't ever hurt us-"

"Goth has found a way to raise Zotz from the Underworld."

Luna was dumbstruck. "What?" she whispered, her eyes enormous.

"Griffin and the others have gone to stop him."

The Silverwing said nothing. She looked down at the tiny baby clinging to her breast, then shut her eyes. "Griff," she whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "What have you done?"

* * *

  
Darkness. Where am I? What happened?

_Shade..._

Who said that?

_Fight it, Shade..._

I can't. What's going on? Where am I?

_Fight. If you want to escape this terrible void, then fight._

Void? I'm in a _void?_ Yes, escaping sounds like a wonderful plan, but how? And who are you?

_You know who I am, Shade. He is trying to keep you here. Fight him._

Who's _him?_ Wait, are you Nocturna?

_Fight, Shade!_

How do I fight? I don't understand! Why can't you help me?

_I cannot stay with you any longer; he approaches! Do not succumb to him! This is not the way you are meant to spend eternity!_

Wait, don't leave me! WAIT!!

_Shade Silverwing..._

... Zotz.

_I see you have discovered that my powers do indeed lie beyond the reaches of the Underworld._

What is this place?

_Your prison. You shall endure it just as I have endured mine._

Where is Nocturna?

_She has fled back to her petty realm of pebbles and dewdrops. Were you expecting her to save you?_

Let me go.

_That's quite a tempting offer, little bat, but I'm afraid it's one that I will have to refuse. You will wait here until the sacrifices have been made and I have risen to my full glory. After I have devoured the sun and destroyed Nocturna completely, I will release you, but take heed, Shade Silverwing. You will wish that I had not._

* * *

Griffin pushed more dirt over toward his sad little pile, his eyes and mouth filled with grit. He dug his claws into the earth again, only to jerk them back with a pained hiss. The soil was rocky, and this was not the first time that he had hit one. He blinked his itchy, watery eyes as he observed his bleeding claws. His vision was almost completely gone due to the silt, and he was so tired that he felt as if his wings would fall off. The Silverwing wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

A sudden scream from nearby made Griffin fall back onto the ground and begin scratching away at it, trying to add as much dirt to his pile as he could. The guards made one round halfway through the shift, to pick out the fastest and strongest miners so that they could be placed at the very bottom of the mine, then another at the very end to see who was becoming to slow to be of any use anymore. Griffin had seen what happened to those who were deemed unproductive, and it sickened him. Cannibals, they proved true to their name.

Griffin gasped as his claws struck another stone, and, taking the rock that had been forced into his jaws by one of the guards at the entrance of the mine, he pecked away at it, breaking it up so that he could dig it out in small, manageable pieces. Spitting out his rock, he began scooping it all up in his wings and dumping it onto his mound, hoping that by the time the guard made it to him his pile would be big enough.

Another scream, louder this time.

Hurry, Griffin thought. Have to hurry. His pile was bigger now, but it was nothing compared to that of the Longear male next to him. As was Griffin's luck, he had ended up next to a bat that could dig five times as much dirt as him in half the time. Could his life get any easier?

"Hey, Silverwing."

Griffin looked up from his pile and saw the Longear gesturing at him.

"Yeah, you. That's not going to make Her Majesty too happy," he said, nodding at Griffin's mound.

Griffin knew that he was talking about Queen Phoenix, one of the Vampyrum that he often saw making rounds with the guards. He had seen her take more lives in a single round than the heat did in a whole shift. Luckily, she had yet to criticize his chain.

"I heard she's making rounds on our side of the mine tonight," the Longear was saying now. "What are you planning on doing about your pile? I have to say that it's pretty pathetic."

The Silverwing turned away from him, shielding his pile of dirt. "Mind your own business," he muttered. Griffin jumped in surprised as the male abruptly jostled him out of the way and shoved a bunch of dirt from his own mound onto his.

"There you go," he said. "That should be enough to keep them off your back. My name's Atlas. Yours?"

Griffin couldn't help smiling just a little bit. "Griffin. Thank you, Atlas."

The Longear grinned. "Sure thing. Uh-oh, look like you're still digging!"

Griffin turned back to the small dent he had made in the ground and tried to look busy prying another rock out of the earth. A shadow fell on him, and he knew that one of the guards was standing over him, surveying the size of his pile.

"That's strange," the guard said, and a chill went up Griffin's spine as he leaned over him. "The hole you've dug isn't anywhere near large enough to have created that pile. Can you explain that, Silverwing?"

Griffin didn't turn around to face the cannibal. Quivering with terror, he racked his brain for an excuse, but nothing came to him.

After a moment, he saw the head of the shadow bob, as if nodding. "That's what I thought. And you, Longear! What happened to all the dirt that you scraped out of that fine, little cave? Why, you could probably fit comfortably in there."

Atlas remained silent as well, and Griffin caught him glancing sideways at him. _I'm sorry,_ the young Silverwing mouthed to him.

Griffin yelled as the guard slashed him across the back with a claw, leaving a searing pain burning a fiery diagonal path down his back. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tight as the Vampyrum sliced through his flesh again, making a large 'X.' Atlas suffered the same punishment, but Griffin didn't hear him cry out. The Longear kept his eyes closed, but he did not tighten his features, nor did he fall to the ground. Griffin's respect for the other bat rocketed.

"It's bats like you two that keep this mine from running any faster," the guard snarled, shoving a wing in both their bleeding backs so that they fell face-first into their dirt mounds. "Just be glad it's me that caught you this time, and not Queen Phoenix; she would've killed you both without a second thought. But keep in mind that just because I spared you this time, it doesn't mean that I'll do it again. I'm just as capable of ending a life as she is."

"Are you?"

Griffin's gaze shot upward as he heard Atlas' voice ring out defiantly, and to his amazement, he saw that the Longear was on his hind legs, facing the guard. Don't, he thought. Please don't.

"You're all cowards, you know that? We outnumber the Vampyrum here, and if it weren't for these vines-"

"Remember your place, slave!" the guard growled.

Atlas laughed harshly. "Slave? You're the slaves! That _thing_ that you worship has been manipulating you since the beginning of time. All he cares about is breaking free from the Underworld! He doesn't give a split acorn about you or any of your kind-"

Griffin looked up just in time to see the Vampyrum guard drag one of his claws through the Longear's stomach. The guard flung Atlas' lifeless body into the hole that he had dug and whirled on the Silverwing, thrusting his face into the dirt pile again with a wing.

"Did you get a good look?" he hissed into his ear, pressing his face into the mound. "If you hadn't broken the rules, he might still be living. I expect to see more progress from you tomorrow night, Silverwing."

After the guard had released him and flown off, Griffin spat out soil and struggled to push himself upright, but his arms were too weak, and he collapsed back into the dirt. "I'm so sorry," he wheezed. "I'm so sorry."


	20. Dungeon

The jungle was a noisy place. During the day, strange birdcalls and beastlike yells came from deep within the thick trees that encircled the pyramid, backed by the constant clicking and screeching of insects. When the sun began to sink, the creatures of the day would halt their hideous cacophony only to allow the nocturnal creatures to begin their own.

Nighttime was the worst for Griffin. He used to find comfort in the concealing darkness, but now, it scared him. Frightening screams and moans filled the moonlit hours, making the young Silverwing look twice at a shadow before turning his back to it, causing him to pin his ears flat and wrap his wings over his head once the guards had forced them down into the dungeons of the pyramid.

Down in the dungeons, it was unbearably hot and humid. At night it became a little cooler, but only by a few degrees. Griffin was luckier than most; since he was at the front of his line, he always ended up against the wall at the far end of the dungeon when they were filing inside, and in that shadowy corner was a small crack. A small breeze filtered through it sometimes, and Griffin would press his face against the stone, letting it cool his heated cheeks.

When the guards came to feed them, they brought clawfuls of living insects and dropped them on the floor, then left. There was a mad scramble as every bat fought to get something to eat, still tethered together by the living vine. Teeth flashed and claws were flexed. Fur was ripped out in chunks. Hisses and growls filled the dungeon until every last insect had been devoured. At first, Griffin had tried to keep from being dragged into the fray, but the vine around his ankles prevented him from staying in his corner. Eventually, though, hunger took its toll on the young Silverwing, and Griffin became one of the first bats to throw themselves on the crawling piles of insects that the Vampyrum fed them. They tasted no better than the bugs back in the fake forest, and some were tricky to eat; some of them had hard shells that hurt his teeth when he tried to bite into them, and at one point, one had even attacked him! The spindly-legged insect was almost as big as he was, and if it hadn't been for a couple of starving Graywings, he might have ended up being killed.

He had seen horrific things in the jungle, but none, perhaps, so terrible as the actions of his fellow slaves. The young and old ones in his chain began to fade and die of starvation; the bigger, stronger bats ate up all the bugs before they could get to them. Griffin had even seen a crazed mother turn on her child when she came too close to her food. When bats died in the chains, the Vampyrum would replace them with new ones, the vines slithering off of the deceased's claws and onto those of the new slave with no effort from the guards at all. Griffin's pessimistic mind constantly wondered when the vine would unknot itself from his claws and allow him to be carried away, or when he would finally snap and begin fighting children for his food.

Presently, the Silverwing was leaning up against the wall, his flanks heaving. His chain had just returned from the mine, and, like always, he was exhausted. The small pool that the guards let them stop at after they had finished digging their shift had almost completely dried up under the blaring, unforgiving southern sun. Griffin had hardly gotten any water when he leaned down to lap feebly at the mud.

He clutched his belly as it growled audibly, wishing for a big, fat caterpillar, like the ones that climbed his favorite sugar maple back in the northern forests. The Silverwing could almost taste it. Oh, and the cold, crystal-clear water that ran through the stream near Tree Haven! How refreshing it would be to feel it gush down his throat. He licked his cracked lips.

"Listen!" someone hissed from down the chain, and the small conversations that had been going on halted abruptly. Wingbeats.

Griffin's ears perked up as he recognized the harsh laughter of one of the guards that had been assigned to their dungeon, a burly male called Zachaire. During his time in the jungle, Griffin had failed to run into a single Vampyrum that didn't look down on him in a contemptuous manner and treat him like dirt, but he would rather face all of them together than be singled out by Zachaire.

The Vampyrum had been given many other names by the slaves that he looked after: murderer, torturer, butcher. He often stayed behind after the other guard had left and watched the wretched bats fight over the little food they were given, laughing at the screeches and hisses that came from the riot. Sometimes, Zachaire would come back after the slaves had finished off the food and settled down, and eat one of them. It was against the rules to kill able-bodied slaves, and all the northern bats knew it, but no one was about to stop him. If someone was about to be killed and eaten, you cowered against the wall and thanked Nocturna that it wasn't you. Besides, no one would notice if a couple slaves suddenly died; the northern bats weren't meant for the jungle, they died all the time here.

"Evening, my beauties!" Zachaire called as the enormous round stone that blocked the doorway rolled slightly to allow the guards inside. The bats at the end of the chain cried out in terror and scuttled toward the far wall as the Vampyrum dropped to the floor and flared their mighty wings, hissing and baring their fangs menacingly. Griffin was cringing against the wall, just as terrified as anyone else, when he noticed that the guards weren't carrying any insects in their rear claws. If they weren't feeding them, then what were they doing here?

"I suppose you're all hungry, aren't you?" Zachaire asked them. No one uttered a word in response; Zachaire's questions were rhetorical, one of the first things you found out about the cruel Vampyrum guard. Moving down the line, he smirked as each bat flinched from him. He stopped when he came across a young female Freetail and got down on all fours so that he was eyelevel with her. The female shrank back against the wall as Zachaire brought his face close to hers, grinning darkly. "How about you? You hungry?"

She said nothing, shutting her eyes tight and pressing herself against the wall.

Zachaire raised a claw and turned her head so that she was facing him, and said, "Well? Are you?"

The Freetail raised her tearing eyes to his dark, merciless ones, and a choked sob escaped her lips. Once you caught Zachaire's attention, it was all over.

"Aww, now, now," the Vampyrum crooned, wiping a teardrop from her cheek with his thumb, "don't cry. I won't hurt you, I promise."

The guard waiting at the entrance barked a laugh, and a chill went up Griffin's spine. Something bad was about to happen. Something really, really bad.

Zachaire was still grinning at the Freetail. "You still haven't answered my question. Are you hungry?" he asked her softly.

She sniffed and nodded slightly.

"Well, now," the Vampyrum said, getting up, "I won't have that." Moving down the line, he eyed each slave until he came across a male Brightwing.

Griffin jumped as several bats began screaming, followed by more laughter from both guards. He leaned around the others beside him and saw that Zachaire had slit open the Brightwing's chest and was dragging him over to the Freetail.

"Here you are, my dear," he said, dropping the corpse in front of her. "Just for you."

The Freetail covered her mouth, holding back a scream as tears began pouring down her cheeks.

The Vampyrum pulled back, looking offended. "What? You don't want it?"

She shook her head, trying to keep out of the path of the blood that was oozing toward her through the cracks in the stone floor.

"I think you should at least take a bite. Just a little one, to show your appreciation."

The Freetail shook her head again.

Zachaire suddenly put his claw behind the female's head and forced it toward the body of the Brightwing. "Eat," he growled. When she tried to pull away again, he brought his fangs close to her face and snarled dangerously. Her thin form racked by silent sobs, tears still flowing, the Freetail bent down and opened her mouth, but stopped short of the bloody fur.

"I can't," she moaned, shaking her head again. "I can't do it. Please don't, please..."

"Eat," Zachaire encouraged her, his eyes glittering with evil joy.

The Freetail slowly opened her mouth again, her teeth barely a centimeter away from the Brightwing...

"Leave her alone!"

The Vampyrum guard's head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "Who said that?" he barked.

It was then that Griffin realized that almost every bat in the room was staring at him. He was no longer against the wall, but had moved out in plain sight, and was up on his hind legs, his wings flared and fur raised in a gesture of anger and defiance.

"What have we here?!" Zachaire crowed, his furious glare replaced by a mocking grin. "A little bat who thinks he wants to be a hero!"

Griffin was swamped by the Vampyrum's shadow as he loomed over him, his fangs glinting in the little light that filtered through the small gaps in the stone wall. He felt his wings lower a little, his fur now standing up only out of fear.

"Are you sure that's what you want to be?" Zachaire said. "A hero?"

Griffin felt his wings lower some more. What in Nocturna's name was he supposed to do now? He had to clear his throat twice before responding, and even then he fumbled for words. "P-Please, don't scare her anymore."

"You little bats don't listen very well, do you? You, like her, didn't answer my question. Do you want to be a hero?"

The Silverwing gulped. "No... sir."

Zachaire nodded. "Good. A dead bat never made much of a hero, anyway."

Griffin recoiled in horror as the guard's jaws snapped inches away from his face. He tried to scuttle further away, to escape him, but the vine cinched around his ankles tripped him up. Lying on his back on the floor, Griffin was paralyzed with fear as he stared up at Zachaire, spreading his giant wings and opening his mouth to reveal twin rows of razor-like teeth.


	21. Soundshifter

Zachaire was about to lunge forward when the other guard in the doorway hissed at him.

"Zachaire, someone's coming!"

The Vampyrum glowered over his shoulder at him. "Close off the entrance. They won't come in here."

"I can't move it by myself!"

Zachaire took a deep breath, and it was obvious that he was struggling to control his temper. Giving Griffin a murderous look, he turned away and flew over to the entrance to help push the stone back in place.

As he watched the two guards look for the stick that they used to roll the stone back and forth, Griffin racked his brain. All those lessons he had had with his father in the past few weeks... why couldn't he remember anything? Relax, he told himself. You need to relax or you won't be able to do it. Clear your mind...

There was a dull thud as the stone rolled into place, and Zachaire turned around, the wicked grin back on his face. His devilish delight was quickly replaced by horror as a vulture lurched out of the darkness, it's wickedly sharp beak snapping at him.

"How'd that get in here?" the other guard cried, falling back against the wall.

"Open it!" Zachaire screamed, dodging the bird and throwing himself at the stone door. "Hurry!"

In their panicked state, neither Vampyrum noticed that the vulture had a vine around its ankles, or that it had a distinct bat smell. Within seconds of catching sight of the vicious bird, the pair had shoved the stone out of the way and vanished. Their voices could still be heard echoing in the chamber outside as they called for others.

Griffin was certain that his throat was bleeding. Emitting one last rattling echo, his feathers melted away, along with his beak, his giant talons, and his long, skinny neck. He was a Silverwing again.

"How did you do that?" the Graywing next to him asked in a cracked whisper.

Griffin let his head rest against the wall, shutting his eyes and trying to slow his pounding heart. "I'm like my dad," he told the other bat. "I'm a soundshifter."

Goth watched from his roost as Vulcan and Istra chatted idly nearby. He had decided to let his son live for the moment, not because he had found himself a potential mate, but because Goth thought he would make an excellent sacrifice to Cama Zotz on the day of the eclipse, in two day's time. Why waste a heart out of impatience? Perhaps he would sacrifice that female as well, what was her name again?... Istra. A Vampyrum sacrifice would be much more pleasing to Zotz than a puny little northern bat.

Istra laughed, and Goth saw Vulcan curl a wing around her, nuzzle her cheek. He was about to spread his wings and start toward the pyramid when he felt the branch move a little.

"Pretty young thing, isn't she?" Phoenix said, rustling her wings and wrapping them about her.

Goth said nothing and glanced at the pair again.

"I know what you intend on doing."

Goth turned back to Phoenix and gave her a thin smile. "And what would that be, darling?"

Phoenix glowered at him, her previous mood gone. "If you so much as lay a claw on him-"

"You'll what?" Goth sneered. "Tell Zotz? Vulcan has nothing to do with his future reign."

"I won't give you another child."

The male shrugged. "I've been thinking, and I've realized that I don't need an heir. When Zotz rises from the Underworld, the world will plunge into darkness, and everything will die. We will remain as we are, and I will be king for the rest of eternity."

"Then why are you doing this?!" Phoenix practically screamed.

Vulcan and Istra looked over at them, their ears pricked.

"He's your son, Goth!" Phoenix hissed, aware that the pair was listening now. "Killing him will accomplish nothing-"

"He will not die in vain," Goth said, cutting her off. "His death will be one of the many to bring Zotz closer to this world, and to his long-deserved glory."

Phoenix stared at him. "No," she said after a moment. "I won't let you sacrifice him."

"Why not? Isn't that how you wanted to die?"

The female looked away, thinking back to those final moment of the eclipse long ago. If only the priest had gathered more sacrifices, if only there had been more time... if only she had thrown herself down on the Stone sooner. Zotz had been one life away from gaining passage to the Upperworld when the sun appeared from behind the moon, and Phoenix' heart was torn from her chest.

"No," she said softly.

"King Goth, King Goth!"

Both Goth and Phoenix looked up as a panicked guard flew upward and hovered in front of them.

"There's something going on down in the dungeons," the Vampyrum panted. "There's been talk of a vulture."

"That's absurd," Goth snorted. "A vulture in the pyramid, indeed!"

"Two of the guard, Zachaire and Haemon, they say they both saw the bird," the male persisted.

"They wouldn't dare try to enter our home," Phoenix said. "A creature that big would never have gotten inside unseen." She looked at Goth, waiting for him to agree with her, but he said nothing.

The king was staring at the big stone building, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his face. Slowly, he turned to the guard once more. "Show me this... vulture," he said.

Griffin levered himself against the stick that the Vampyrum had left behind, pushing with all his might as he tried to roll the stone. It was no use; he couldn't do it by himself.

"Come on!" he yelled at the others, but they only stared dumbly back at him. After his little display earlier, some had become scared of him, refusing to come anywhere near him.

"Please, we can get out of here if you just help me!" he said again. "We can escape!"

"Why?" an old, whiskery-faced bat asked in his croaking voice. "So that we can be caught and dragged back here? Give it up, Silverwing. We're all going to die here."

There was a murmur of agreement, and Griffin's heart sank even lower. His eyes met those of the Freetail that Zachaire had been torturing earlier, and she shamefully looked away. She wasn't going to help him either.

"Fine," he snapped, "let's just sit in here and rot. That's what you all want to do, right?"

Silence followed Griffin's angry words.

"That's what I thought," he sighed, his rage ebbing from him. What was the use? His father was gone, and he had no idea how he was supposed to stop Cama Zotz alone. He couldn't even get out of this stupid dungeon by himself! That horrible sense of insignificance and defeat washed over him, and all of his hopes suddenly melted away. The old bat was right, he was going to die in here.

The stick that Griffin had pushed into the hole in the center of the round stone to move it abruptly jerked, and he fell backward, startled. The stick twisted and jolted until it snapped off and fell to the floor with a dull clattering sound, and then another one seemed to grow in its place.

"They're back!" a Brightwing screeched. "They back and they're going to punish us all!"

Many began whimpering and crying, trying to hide behind each other and get far away from the entrance. Griffin was dragged away from the stone as those in his chain struggled to make it to the corner and hide in the shadows.

The round stone made a grinding sound as it rolled to the side. Everyone froze when a familiar face was thrust inside. _He_ hardly ever came down here. When he did, though, bad things always happened.

King Goth entered the dungeon, followed by his queen. The pair's gaze swept the room as if looking for something, then rested on the dead Brightwing lying near the wall.

"What happened here?" the king said, frowning at the bloody bundle of fur.

"A guard disobeyed orders, it seems," his mate muttered, glancing at the open entrance where the two guards who claimed to have seen the vulture were waiting.

"No matter, they will be dealt with later." Goth turned to the slaves huddled in the corner. He stepped forward and peered closely at them, scanning.

Griffin did his best to hide, but a sudden sharp shove sent him tumbling forward, and he ended up sprawled directly at the feet of the king himself. Slowly raising his gaze to the giant's, he swallowed hard.

"Griffin Silverwing," the Vampyrum said, a wicked smile on his face. "Just as I thought. You're beginning to become as annoying as your father was." He turned to his guards. "Unshackle him."

Griffin was hauled upward roughly, and the vine slid off his ankles. The other bats watched in mute horror as the Vampyrum guards grabbed him and began dragging him after their retreating sovereigns.

As Goth passed through the doorway, he stopped and glanced back at the slaves, then at Zachaire and Haemon. "You know," he said, "we gained eight new chains within the last three nights. We have more than enough slaves, and this has to be the most wretched lot I've seen in a while. Why don't you take care of them for me?"

Griffin watched as the two guards took the stick into the dungeon with them and rolled the stone back into place. Goth flashed him an evil grin, then turned away and started off down the corridor.

Griffin pinned his ears flat as he was dragged after the king, trying to block out the nightmarish sounds that escaped the dungeon.


End file.
